Return of the Princess
by Shadow and FallenAngel
Summary: ch19 up-finally an update! sorry Steph wants her power back after being forced to leave so enlists Shane's help for a new type of invasion, set before she was GM, this is FallenAngel and Shadow's first joint story so reviews would be great!
1. She's gone?

"Out of my way scum!" Stephanie snarled as she stormed her way backstage towards her dressing room. People parted before her, more out of fear than respect. She could see people like Edge laughing, how dare they.  
  
"How dare they laugh just because I dropped a match again!"  
  
Not just any match though, it was the match. The one that forced her to take a backseat in the federation, making her fade into the background until further notice. She was not a background figure, she was Stephanie McMahon, and she was the bosses' daughter. She damn well demanded respect and attention.  
  
"No one helped me, not one measly piece of talent," she muttered under her breath as she stripped off her black leather singlet and got into the shower. As she relaxed under the hot water spray, a plan formed in her mind. She'd go see Daddy, if that failed then she'd have to take a step back and rethink her options.  
  
There was no one here close enough to help her. Hunter had bailed on her to further his career, to become Undisputed Champion, all he thought about was this business. He seemed to forget that she could get him anything he wanted; any win, any title on a silver platter, if he just yielded the power in the relationship to her. But no, he took things into his own hands, leaving her behind.  
  
No one did that to Stephanie McMahon. Even Kurt hadn't been much help. Sure he'd kept her company since the rest of the company treated her like a caged animal, but he hadn't been there when it mattered, he didn't help her win the match. But he would still be there; he was such a superior athlete and a good friend.  
  
"I'll show them who's a loser"  
  
She looked at herself in the mirror, not bad, the outfit said 'I am a responsible sexy female who is ready to take back what is hers' in a very subtle way of course. Stephanie was all about being subtle. She applied more eyeliner, perfect. She straightened her shoulders and walked out the door. She was damn well going to get what she wanted. She always did.  
  
Stephanie strode past a very sore and tired looking Chris Jericho, who looked up as soon as she walked by him.  
  
He jumped up off the bench. "Hey, Steph, I really need to talk to you." He fell into step besides her and studied her angry profile as he continued. "I guess that I just wanted to apologize for letting you get pinned."  
  
She whirled around so fast that he almost ran into her. "Chris, I don't have time right now to listen to your pathetic whimpering." She snapped. He opened his mouth but she cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Please, just save it for when you're pleading with my father for more air time."  
  
Jericho watched as she turned away from him and began walking to her father's office and sneered. "So now the billion-dollar bitch is back and going to go cry to daddy about not being thrown out of the company. Good luck you bottom-feeding ho."  
  
Stephanie responded by giving him the middle finger as she walked into Vince's office. 


	2. Daddy's little girl no more

"But Daddy!"  
  
She hadn't planned on being the one pleading and begging, that was supposed to be her father trying to please his precious princess. But he sat sternly at his desk, looking over his glasses at her, hand poised to sign another piece of office paper. He wasn't budging an inch.  
  
"No Steph, the fans aren't responding as well as they used to, you need a break from TV to help the writing team, we'll bring you back soon"  
  
"Oh Daddy, come on.."  
  
"Get out of character Steph! And please just get over it! You're off TV until your role is needed again"  
  
"We'll see." Steph fired her parting words over her shoulder as she flounced out of her dad's office and came face to face with a smirking Chris Jericho.  
  
He had a towel over his shoulders and was looking her up and down like a piece of meat.  
  
"What do you want loser?"  
  
"Nothing at the moment, but I've been summoned to your ol' dad's office where I'm no doubt going to be congratulated on my spectacular heel performance and ring skills and given more TV time, see I don't need to beg for it like you do princess. I'm recognized for my formidable talents in the ring and not my talents in sleeping my way to the top!"  
  
As he said the final words, he slipped into the office before Stephanie could get her manicured claws into him. She stood fuming with rage at the mood he'd left behind. How dare he get more TV time! Was he more talented than her? More good looking? No no no! She stamped a stiletto-toed heel furiously and stormed off to her dressing room, head held high. No one out- did Stephanie McMahon, be it her soon-to-be-ex husband Hunter or that talentless jerk Jericho. It was time for some major retail therapy and major plotting to go with it. And lets face it; she was queen of that, let alone the princess.  
  
* * *  
  
Stephanie looked over at her alarm clock, which was currently playing 'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks, and smiled as she swung her feet over the side of the bed. How fitting, she smirked to herself, letting her feet make contact with the cool wooden floor. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and grabbed a notebook and pen off her desk before settling back down on her un-made bed.  
  
There would have to be a list. In order to feel completely in control, Stephanie always needed a list of some sorts. She tapped the pen on the pad of paper and quickly jotted down the first couple of things she'd need to accomplish, starting today.  
  
She was in the middle of writing down number five when her phone rang, its annoying ring piercing the mostly quiet room. She reached over with an exaggerated sigh and lifted the receiver to her ear. "Hello."  
  
"Hey little sis."  
  
Stephanie smiled as soon as she hard her brother's voice and an idea popped into her mind. "Hey Shane, what's going on?"  
  
He laughed. "Nothing. I just wanted to see how you were feeling after yesterday." He paused and then started humming that stupid 'Na, na, na' song the fans had taken a liking too.  
  
"I'm doing fine." Stephanie responded, clenching her teeth to prevent from snapping at Shane. She took a deep breath and launched straight into her plan. "Shane, do you think you could meet me for lunch or something later, let's say around fourish?"  
  
"Four isn't really lunch time anymore." Shane pondered out loud after a couple of seconds of silence.  
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes and had to fight the urge to jump out the window of her sixth floor apartment. "I just really need to talk to you about something. It's important." She added quickly.  
  
"I guess so." Shane answered slowly. "But why so late? I have some free time right now."  
  
"I have a doctors appointment at eight." Stephanie revealed, biting the side of her thumbnail. She knew he would be curious about that little piece of information.  
  
"For what?" He asked predictably. "Steph, are you alright? Was it that Pedigree or slam last night? If Paul seriously hurt you I swear I'll punch his face in." He threatened.  
  
She stifled a laugh, partly at the sudden rush of over protectiveness by her older brother, and then at the image of Shane trying to beat up Paul, again. "No, I'm fine. It's just girl stuff." She thought quickly.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So yeah, I'll meet you at your house around four and we can decide where to go." She planned. "I'll see you later Shane."  
  
"Alright, bye Steph."  
  
Stephanie tossed the cordless phone to the end of the bed and fell back into the pile of pillows and stuffed animals. Her thoughts immediately drifted to the doctor's appointment she had in about an hour and she enforced the silent decision with a nod of her head. It's going to be for the best. 


	3. Self-improvement

"Linda, I'm actually a little bit worried about Stephanie." Vince said, expressing concern of his youngest daughter over the phone to his wife.  
  
She shook her head, even though he wasn't able to see her. "You know she gets into these little moods, keeps to herself, and then in a couple of days she'll be fine."  
  
"Last time she got into one of these moods, she plotted with her brother to take over my company." Vince replied. He heard Linda sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose after taking off his glasses. "It's just that I don't need to be worrying about her right now. I mean with all this crap going on with Flair and the damn Wildlife people-"  
  
"Vince, I know." Linda cut him off. "Just trust me. She's going to be fine and back to her old self within a week tops."  
  
"I really hope you're right." Vince said solemnly.  
  
* * *  
  
"Miss McMahon-Helmsley, how nice to see you again"  
  
Stephanie gritted her teeth at the doctor's surprised fake-pleasant words, she was not going to lose her temper with so many surgical knives close at hand. She plastered a bright smile on her face as she shook his hand firmly; Daddy always said that to seem serious in business your handshake had to show this, she was serious.  
  
He sat down opposite her and looked expectantly at her.  
  
"Well, I know you so very kindly put these implants in for me several months ago and I remember you saying that if I was unhappy with them then I should come see you and you'd sort it out for me"  
  
"Yes, always here to help"  
  
"I am unhappy with them and I'd like them taken out please" her words were direct.  
  
The doctor nodded, scratching some notes down on his notepad. "Any particular reason for this?"  
  
"I had them done to make myself happy, it hasn't worked and I've realized that I'm better off without him-I mean them, I'd like to go back to my former size"  
  
The doctor paused as he read through the notes he had in front of him then turned to address Stephanie seriously. "Miss McMahon-Helmsley, I am slightly reluctant to do this operation so soon, it has only been a few months since you asked for these implants and they may not have fully settled, it could leave severe scars and cause you pain later, are you absolutely sure that you want this done? I want you to be aware of the risks"  
  
Stephanie sighed, he obviously wasn't used to dealing with McMahon's, when they set their mind to something, there was no turning back. "Listen doc, I don't care about the risks, I just want these things out of my body, if I feel any extra pain afterwards then I'll come back here and you can do something about it right?" the way she said it left no room for argument.  
  
The doctor nodded. "Yes, I suppose that would work, I have had clients before who have done the same as yourself and been fine"  
  
"Well, there you go then" Steph knew she was triumphant.  
  
"Any time you'd like this done?"  
  
"Today if possible, if not as soon as you can fit me in"  
  
The doctor picked up his phone and dialed through to his secretary. "Tina, do we have anyone scheduled for the next two or so hours?....no? Thank you" He put the phone down and smiled a practiced smile at Stephanie. "It seems you're in luck Miss McMahon-Helmsley, no one has an appointment for the next few hours"  
  
"How fortunate" Stephanie looked down at her skirt as she brushed it off  
  
"Please got through to the changing room, I hope you remember where it is?"  
  
"Of course"  
  
Stephanie walked out of the doctor's room, smiling. Phase one in progress, once these babies had walked, she'd have time to shop for some new things before surprising her big brother. Mind you, Shane had never really liked her 'improved' figure anyway. She pulled her clothes off, replacing them with a thin green gown and tied her hair back. She smiled at her reflection.  
  
"Next time you see me, I'm a changed woman!" Her reflection grinned back. Things were going her way, and they were going to stay that way. 


	4. Together again

Time was the first thing on Stephanie's mind as she regained consciousness. Her head was throbbing and a nauseous feeling would over come her every couple of minutes. She tried propping herself up with her elbows but found that even too hard.  
  
A nurse breezed into the room carrying a clipboard in one hand and Stephanie's cell phone in the other. "Oh good, you're awake!" She said happily. "Everything went smoothly and you should be ready to go home in a few hours. And by the way, a man named Shane kept calling your phone until the doctor finally turned it off."  
  
Stephanie squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again slowly. "What time is it?" She managed out as another wave of nausea racked her body.  
  
"6:30 at night."  
  
"Oh fuck." Stephanie muttered, grabbing her phone. She punched in her brother's number and waited until he picked up.  
  
"Hello?" Shane answered frantically.  
  
  
  
"Shane, it's me." Stephanie croaked out, massaging her throat.  
  
He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God you called. We were all getting so worried about you. Where are you anyway?"  
  
Stephanie bit her lip. "I'm at Doctor Rodrek's office, and I need you to pick me up."  
  
"Why the hell are you there?" Shane finally asked. "I thought after your last escapade you had enough."  
  
"I don't really wanna talk about it." Stephanie near whispered. "Can you pick me up at like nine or no? Because if you can't I'll just call Mom or Dad."  
  
Shane sighed. "No, don't call them. I'll be there to pick you up at nine."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"No problem Steph. I'll see you in a bit."  
  
"Okay, later Shane!"  
  
* * *  
  
Just as Steph began getting nervous, Shane's car pulled up outside the hospital. She'd been waiting for a little over 10 minutes, enough to make her worried; she didn't know how he'd react.  
  
He hurtled out of the car and grabbed her into a hug. She hugged him back reluctantly, trying to hold him away from her upper body. "Don't ever do that to me again Steph! I didn't know what had happened to you"  
  
Steph nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she pulled away from him. "Lets just go ok?"  
  
"Ok, but you're telling me what's happening"  
  
"Fine fine, lets just get out of here" She was beginning to feel more normal and well enough to start ordering people about. She got into the passenger seat and sat with her arms crossed in front of her defensively. She'd made sure she'd brought her leather coat with her which she now wore tied securely around her waist, disguising any changes.  
  
Shane got in and started the car. Steph stared out of the windscreen, her thoughts beginning to come back to her in razor sharp focus. She needed Shane's help. "Lets drive to my place"  
  
"Won't Hunter be there"  
  
"I threw him out" Steph snapped  
  
Shane looked at her carefully and gently pulled her arms away from her chest. He took a breath.  
  
"Is this what happened today?"  
  
She inclined her head, her defiant nature masking her feelings. "So what if I did? I only got them to try to keep Hunter"  
  
"True but messing with your body isn't gonna help you, especially so soon after you had them put in"  
  
"I do not need this now Shane so damn well drive!" her voice rose in volume.  
  
Shane put his hands up defensively and began pulling away from the parking spot. "If you think you've made the right decision then fine, I'm just worried about you"  
  
Steph smiled a tiny smile to herself; it was nice to have someone still worried about her. She knew she could rely on Shane, she always could, Daddy always said that in the end no matter how much they fought and destroyed each other, in the end the McMahon's always have each other. Well, she had Shane and only Shane at the moment.  
  
"Hey Steph, just ring Dad to say you're still alive"  
  
Step grinned at Shane and pressed speed dial on her cell phone. She asked for Dad and smiled a little at the worry in his voice, she still had that power over him, she was still Daddy's little girl.  
  
"No I'm fine Daddy...really, just went out by myself for a bit" a wave of nausea came over her "I've gotta go...yeah, I'm with Shane, ok...bye" She threw her phone down and gave Shane a painful smile. "Ok, I'm in pain, happy?"  
  
"No, but it was your decision, lets get to your place and you better tell me everything" 


	5. Sealing the deal

They rode in silence for about ten minutes until Shane pulled his car to a stop in front of Stephanie's huge, two-story brick house. He followed her as she walked in through the garage and unlocked the door. Once inside, she threw her keys on the kitchen table and motioned for Shane to follow her into the living room.  
  
"So, what's going on?" He asked, once they were both comfortable and situated. She bit her lip. "Or do you want to tell me the whole story around you getting that surgery first?"  
  
Stephanie had to restrain herself mentally from saying anything to him that would cause him to become upset. "The only reason I got them done in the first place was because I knew that without them I couldn't get Hunter away from Joanie." Shane opened his moth to say something but Stephanie cut him off. "And now that I'm not with him anymore-I guess I don't need them to make me feel good about myself." She leaned back and winced at the immediate pain doing so caused.  
  
Shane looked confused, which Stephanie didn't take as a good sign. "That's the only reason you got them done in the first place?"  
  
"Yeah, what'd you think?"  
  
He shrugged. "Not sure, but I always thought it'd be a better reason then that." Stephanie's eyes narrowed and he snapped his mouth shut.  
  
"Listen Shane, I had them done because of him so I can have them taken out because of him, sure I thought they'd improve my figure, make me look more proportioned, more beautiful, but I heard the comments in the arena, I heard the comments backstage, I heard the comments on the internet, so I decided to have them taken out because I was sick of defending myself when people asked why I had them done in the first place, so you don't you dare tell me there should be a better reason than that!!"  
  
Shane let silence fall between them, allowing her to calm down and gather herself again. He decided not to touch on that subject again for a while.  
  
"So Steph why did you want me here?"  
  
"Shane, I know you want your slice of the company now and you know that I want mine, unfortunately because of our deal with Flair that doesn't look likely to happen for an extremely long time, I wanted to know if you're interested in a take over"  
  
"Hold it Steph" Shane cut in "Haven't we been here before? Or have you conveniently forgotten last year's invasion that resulted in Dad humiliating and kicking us out with nothing? Don't you think he's ready for something like this after last time?"  
  
"But you're forgetting that we haven't got nothing, we've got talent in the company who I know are loyal to us; people like Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Christian, Test and more, they all have the same ambition as us; they want to be at the top, if we took over and we tipped them off and swayed their support, we'd already have people on our side!"  
  
Shane looked at her carefully, she was serious, that spark was back in her eyes and excitement in her voice. The idea of a take over was tempting and what she said about the talent was true, some of them would be on their side because of what they did for them during the Invasion.  
  
"True, but how exactly do you plan to take over? Dad's contracts are covered in red tape, it would take a team of executive lawyers years to unravel it all"  
  
"Ah, but he reckoned without a little tool called the internet and a computer major who learnt more than computer basics in her class, you're looking at an A class hacker" she spread her arms out, a wide grin on her face  
  
"You're saying you can take over the company using the internet?"  
  
"Think about big brother! We can take over the computer system and gain everything, everything!, right from under Dad's nose! He won't know until you and I hijack a Raw and announce it to the whole world!"  
  
Steph suddenly grimaced; pain had just poured into her chest. She hurriedly got up, leaving Shane to think about her offer as she grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen. As she sat down again, she emptied a couple of pills out of a bottle and swallowed them with a gulp of water. Shane looked at her questioningly  
  
"The doctor gave them to me, to take for the pain that should only last a couple of days anyway" she said dismissively  
  
"I gotta ask Steph, why have you thrown Hunter out?"  
  
"Because he decided that he'd rather be married to the business than me" she scowled "he chose the Undisputed title over having me in his corner and Stephanie Mcmahon is never left behind, from anybody"  
  
Shane nodded and flicked open his pocket organiser, like Steph, he liked to plan everything so that he felt in control. Tapping a couple of buttons, he looked over to his sister.  
  
"Tell you what Steph, you use your hacking skills and grab those contracts and you've got yourself a deal"  
  
He held out his hand, which Steph gripped firmly, shaking it. As her soon- to-be-ex husband would say, let's play the game.  
  
Read, enjoy, review! Thanx Cinnamon for reviewing for us, it means a lot. C'mon everyone, click on the review button and write, it ain't hard! 


	6. Little hacking project

Stephanie breezed onto the ninth floor of the WWE Headquarters a couple of days later with a genuine smile on her face. "Morning Janet!" She called to her father's secretary cheerfully.  
  
The nearly retired lady looked at her bosses' daughter warily before turning back to her computer.  
  
"And I hope you have a wonderful day too." Stephanie answered back, setting her cup of coffee on the table as she rummaged through her mail. "Wow, a whole bunch of nothing." She muttered, dropping the pile in the trash as she picked her cup back up and retreated to her office. There was work to do.  
  
She opened the door only to find Shane sitting in the chair opposite of her desk, a newspaper in his hands. "What are you doing here?" She asked, a little surprised at his sudden appearance.  
  
Shane set aside the paper and rested his elbows onto her desk. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued about how you're going to do this little hacking project."  
  
"It's not a little hacking project." She snapped. She sat down in her chair and reached down and flipped on the computer. "It's going to be our ticket back into the company." She corrected, picking up her purse. She pulled out the disk she was looking for and grinned at Shane's look of amazement.  
  
"I'm not even going to ask how you got that." He said simply, propping his feet up on the table.  
  
"Can you do me a favor?" Stephanie asked, keeping her eyes on the computer as she clicked away on the keyboard. She didn't wait for Shane's response and went on. "Go lock the door so I don't have any interruptions." Not even having to look up to know Shane was doing it, she grabbed a couple of sheets of paper and glanced down at them. "Shit."  
  
Shane sat back down across from her. "What's up? The hacker comes to a roadblock?"  
  
Stephanie didn't answer him and furrowed her brows as she studied the paragraphs further and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, nevermind. I thought for a second that Mom had more power then Dad in the company. If that was the case it'd be impossible to break in."  
  
"Because Mom's a lot smarter then Dad?" Shane guessed and she smirked.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
About five hours later, Stephanie still sat in front of the computer as Shane was pacing on the other side of the room, a bored expression on his face. He sat down on the floor right in front of the door and stretched his legs out as he picked up a pad of paper and a pen. He sat in silence for a couple of minutes and then held up the piece of paper with a smirk. "Hey Steph, who does this remind you of?"  
  
Stephanie glanced up and laughed out loud as she saw the caricature portraying her soon to be ex-husband. His arms were spread out in a seemingly threatening manner and his nose stuck out a good six inches. "You're very talented." She managed out, shaking her head at her supposed to be older brother.  
  
"You better recognize." Shane responded with a nod of his head.  
  
"Hold on a sec." Stephanie murmured. She put her hand on the mouse and scrolled down the screen as some of Vince's records and files came into view. She sat back in satisfaction as the names 'Stephanie McMahon' and 'Shane McMahon' popped onto the screen. "Got 'em." She said triumphantly.  
  
Shane jumped up off the floor and rushed to her side as they scanned through the legalities, terms, and conditions of their contracts. "Can you edit them?" He asked, looking at his younger sister with a little more respect.  
  
"Are you doubting me?" Stephanie asked, a fake-indignant look on her face. She typed a few things into the computer and managed to pull up the same program her father used when he was creating and destroying contracts. "What are we thinking, at least five more years?"  
  
"Make it seven to be on the safe side."  
  
"And control of our own faction." Stephanie muttered, more to herself as her eyes scanned the newly created contracts. She checked the date to make sure that nothing else had been changed and clicked on 'finalize'. She pulled the signature box from her desk drawer and handed Shane the device for signing.  
  
He leaned over and signed his name with a flourish as he watched it appear on screen. Stephanie followed suit and signed her name on her own contract. She looked up and noticed the blinking red light on the top-right corner of the program and got a panicked look on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Somebody else is trying to get on." She whispered. "It's probably Dad." She finished typing on the keyboard and clicked 'save' as she quickly signed off the program. She held her breath and then let it out until her main screen came into view with a little box saying 'You have successfully created/edited a contract. Thank you for using this program Mr. McMahon'.  
  
Shane crossed his arms over his chest and a smile spread over his face. "No all we gotta do is gather our talent and prepare for the second invasion."  
  
Stephanie smiled and switched off her computer as she grabbed her purse. "We'll worry about that tomorrow."  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow then."  
  
"Alright, later Shane." Stephanie watched as he walked down the hall towards the elevator and locked her office behind her as she patted her purse securely.  
  
A smile swept across her face, time to invade again 


	7. Recruiting Raw

Disclaimer: we don't own any of the names of the superstars mentioned, they're owned by WWE and Vince Mcmahon so leave us alone!!  
  
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Shane asked for what seemed like the tenth time that morning  
  
Steph shot him a killer look across the dashboard, now was not the time for Shane to start panicking, she did not need that, not today. She didn't answer for a moment as she turned a corner, then she inclined her head towards him  
  
"Shane, we've been over it, I'll go in and talk to a couple of them backstage before Raw, I'll keep in contact with you via cell-phone, then you go in before Smackdown tomorrow" she rattled off as if from a boring school book  
  
"Right, make sure no one else is in earshot when you talk and give them your number so they can call you, if they remain loyal to Dad and threaten to squeal then we're screwed"  
  
"I'm aware of the complications Shane-o," she said mockingly  
  
He glared at her and ran a hand through his hair; his nervousness was very easy to see. He was making her nervous and she wanted to be cool, calm and collected. She knew what was on the line, they couldn't rush this, that was the problem with the last invasion; rushing in and hoping to storm the competition. This time, it would be careful and calculated, taking over from the inside, she looked at her purse on the floor at her feet where she knew the contracts were and couldn't resist smiling.  
  
"We're here," Shane said quietly  
  
Steph was about to give a smart reply but decided against it, they were both tense now. She parked and they both sat back in silence for a few seconds. She grabbed her phone and purse and looked over at her older brother, he looked back at her worriedly. She rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder awkwardly; being comforting was so not her style.  
  
"It's OK, I'll be about half an hour then I'll be out before Dad knows I'm there, I'll keep you updated"  
  
She got out the car and walked confidently towards the arena, glad no one could hear her thudding heart. Time to do business.  
  
*  
  
Steph walked quickly about backstage, ignoring the strange and pointed looks she was receiving from talent and crew alike, instead smiling happily as though she didn't have a care in the world, her eyes searching the crowds for who she was looking for. She got to the dressing rooms and found a door half open, she peeked in, bingo. Pushing the door open, she walked in confidently. She should have known he'd be by himself, stretching out in preparation for the Raw. She closed the door securely and crossed her arms, smiling at the person lying on the floor.  
  
"Hello Rob"  
  
Rob Van Dam looked up, a look of astonishment spreading over his face followed by a wide smile. He disentangled himself from whatever complicated stretch he was putting himself through and got to his feet.  
  
"Steph, wow I didn't expect to see you here, you look great"  
  
"Thanks, that's sweet of you" Steph said, looking down at herself, glad she'd worn what she had.  
  
"So,.um..what you doing here?" he said as casually as he could  
  
"I have a business proposition for you and I think you'll find it very interesting. You don't have to look at me like I grew another head." She added after seeing the look on his face.  
  
"What do you mean?" Rob asked, still a little bit weary.  
  
Steph sat down on one end of the bench and opened up her briefcase. Time for the good ol' powers of persuasion. "As you've seen, my father and soon to be ex husband forced me to sign a deal, leading to my present banishment." Rob nodded, so she kept on. "I'm going to get straight to the point, I want back in."  
  
"I'm not really the one you should be talking to about-"  
  
"That's where you're wrong." She cut in, a gleam in her eyes. "I've been doing some talking with my dear brother and what we have planned will blow my dad out of the water."  
  
Realization dawned on his face. "Are you talking about another type of invasion?" Stephanie nodded and Rob saw the excitement in her eyes. "I would help you, I really would. But my contract is with-"  
  
"Us." Stephanie finished, handing him the brand new contract. "All you have to do is sign."  
  
He shrugged and took the pen from her outstretched hand. "Sure, as long as I'm still going to get the airtime." He signed his name on the dotted line and handed it back.  
  
"I knew I could rely on you Rob." Stephanie said with a genuine smile. They shook hands and she secured the contract back into her briefcase. "I'll be getting in touch with you shortly." She turned to leave the room but stopped and faced him. "And Rob, don't mention this to anyone." He agreed and went back to his stretching as she left the room. She pulled out her cell phone and text Shane. 'RVD; got him'  
  
She smiled to herself as she pressed send and knew Shane would be pleased. RVD was one of the people they had anticipated being most loyal to their father. But, apparently not. She looked down as her phone vibrated (she wouldn't have taken any chances with the ringer) and saw Shane's message.  
  
'Really?! Go girl!'  
  
"What a dork." She muttered, tucking it back into her pocket. "One more locker room to get to and I'm outta here." She approached a girl with a headset on that looked like she was new. "Could you point me to the Un- American's locker room?"  
  
The girl nodded and looked down at her clipboard. "Of course, and who, may I ask, is asking?"  
  
Stephanie grinned. "What a doll you are. Tell them it's a longtime friend."  
  
"Alrighty." The girl said happily. "Follow me." She led Stephanie down a complicated twist and turn of hallways and finally stopped in front of a door with an upside-down American flag pinned up. "There you go Miss. Glad I could help."  
  
"Thank you." Stephanie replied. She watched as the girl turned the corner, and then knocked on the door.  
  
"Who is it?" Somebody, she guess was Christian, called.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Just open up you guys, I need to talk to you." She heard whispering amongst themselves and had to stifle a laugh.  
  
"Who is it though?"  
  
"Maybe we should pretend we're not here."  
  
"She already knows."  
  
"Hey, it's a she? Let her in, let her in!"  
  
The door swung open and Stephanie came face to face with Lance Storm. His face broke into a grin as he let her. "Hey guys, it's Stephanie!"  
  
Stephanie walked into the room and sat down on a chair, all the while knowing that they were looking at her curiously. Finally she turned to the three. "I can count on you three, right?" She asked slowly. She figured she didn't have to take the same approach as RVD; these three would be swayed much easier.  
  
"Yeah, you know you can count on us Steph." Christian spoke up. "But what's going on?"  
  
"Me and Shane are planning something and we need your help." She said, getting straight to the point.  
  
Test's eyes grew wide and Christian and Lance both smiled. "You want us to be a part of the next invasion?"  
  
"I don't really like the term invasion anymore." Stephanie said simply. "Invasion refers to something that I, we failed at. I like to think of it more as a take-over. And I need to know if I can count on you three when the time comes to join me and Shane."  
  
"So, it's going to be just you, Shane, and us?" Lance asked curiously.  
  
She shook her head. "No, there'll be more. Trust me." She grabbed the contracts out and handed them theirs. "So will you help us?"  
  
"Sure." Christian answered, taking his sheet of paper happily. He signed it where she told him to and gave it back to her. "There ya go."  
  
"What about you two?" Stephanie asked to the remaining members of the team.  
  
"You know we will." Test answered for the both of them. They signed their new contracts and she picked them back up.  
  
"Thank you guys." Stephanie said, shaking each one of their hands. "Me and Shane will be getting in touch with you guys shortly." She left the locker room and smiled to herself. This was turning out to be a lot easier then anticipated.  
  
Read, enjoy, review. Thanks to those who've taken the time to review, we appreciate it!! 


	8. Deadman's deal

Disclaimer: we don't own anything (though the Hardy Boyz and Christian would be great of they're spare!)  
  
Steph sat down in the car, catching her breath. Shane no longer looked panicky but relieved and a smile was even on his face.  
  
"You did good sis"  
  
"Thanks, so that's Rob and the UnAmericans in"  
  
She pulled a pad out of her purse and ticked their names off a list she's written out meticulously. Shane tapped a couple of buttons on his personal organiser then looked at her, a worried look on his face.  
  
"What is it now Shane?" she said wearily  
  
"Don't you think it's been a bit too easy? I mean they just signed the contracts without a sales pitch being needed"  
  
"What, you think Dad tipped them off so he can have moles in our group?"  
  
"It could happen" he said defensively  
  
"Impossible, there's no way he could have found out, it's airtight" she said abruptly  
  
"I know, but still..." he trailed off in a moment of silence "Guess I'm just a little jumpy about it that's all"  
  
"Come on Shane, think about it, Rob owes us because we made him a star plus he's the number one guy in the group so he knows he'll get all the glory and the UnAmericans will get a chance to piss everyone off even more by being prominent members of our group, they win by being with us, so stop worrying" she finished, starting the car  
  
"Yeah I know, it's just I don't want this Invasion to go down the pan like it did last time because of outside interference and internal fights"  
  
"Neither do I, but I blame Austin for all that" she said his name like is was a virus  
  
"You do?"  
  
"He was too big a player for our pond, wanted all the glory, come on we even had 'Austin Appreciation Night' it was stupid and you know it so this time we build around small time players, look what happened to Rob and Booker last time? They became elevated and now we as good as own them because we damn well just about created them!"  
  
"Point taken" Shane sat back "Lets go, we got a lot more planning to do"  
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes at her brother's eagerness, but smiled nonetheless.  
  
"So you can handle everything tomorrow at the Smackdown taping?" She asked after they drove in silence for a couple of minutes.  
  
"You don't have to worry about a thing." Shane assured. He held up his organiser. "I got the list, schedule, and locker room assignments. I'm all set."  
  
"I hope so." Stephanie said quietly as she stared ahead at the traffic.  
  
*~*~*~* "I'm getting the strangest feeling of déjà vu." Stephanie teased as Shane eased into the arena parking lot.  
  
He parked the car in a far enough space so it wouldn't be noticed and cut the engine as he turned to his sister. "I might be a little longer then you. Just because we're getting the bulk our people today." He clarified.  
  
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Stephanie asked anxiously as Shane checked to make sure that he had everything.  
  
He nodded his head. "Positive. I'll be out in an hour." He promised while he got out of the car. "See ya in a bit!"  
  
Stephanie watched as Shane made his way to the back entrance and smiled. If he could pull it all off, they'd be golden and all set for the takeover of their father's company.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey Chris!" Shane called to the security guard, as he got closer to the door.  
  
The larger man heard him and smiled. "Shane, what the hell are you doing? You know you're not supposed to be here. Orders from your dad and all."  
  
Shane held up his own briefcase. "Got me some McMahon business to take care of. It should only take an hour or so." He promised. "Look." He started, seeing the uncertain look on Chris' face. "If anyone asks, you never saw me. You won't get blamed for anything."  
  
Chris sighed and stepped aside to let Shane go through the door. "I never saw you and this better be worth it." He muttered.  
  
"You're a good guy." Shane said as he passed. "Thanks a lot man, I owe you."  
  
He pulled out his organiser and checked out one of the first names on his list. He then looked at the room assignments and headed in the known direction.  
  
Shane found the room with relatively no problem and knocked on the door.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
He remained quiet until the door swung open and he came face to face with the Undertaker himself.  
  
"Shane McMahon, what the fuck are you doing here?" He snapped, staring at the younger man with disdain.  
  
Shane gritted his teeth and looked up. "I just need to talk to you about something. Let me in."  
  
The Undertaker scanned the hallway and, once he determined it was empty enough, pulled Shane into the otherwise deserted locker room. He slammed the door shut and then turned to him with a smile.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked lightly, pulling his gloves from his bag.  
  
"Have I gotta business proposition for you." Shane announced, taking some papers out of the gray folder. Once realizing he had Taker's full attention, he continued on.  
  
"I've seen the way that my father has been treating you. Screwing you out of the title that's rightfully yours; seen it all."  
  
"So what are you gonna do about it? You're banished from the company because of Flair and your sister." Taker stated.  
  
Shane waved the papers in his direction. "My sister." He started. "Learnt some stuff in college that was very useful to us. Flat out, we're getting back into the company whether our father likes it or not and we want your help."  
  
"We?" He asked with a curious look.  
  
"Me and Steph." Shane clarified. "And I'm telling you this because I'd trust you with my life. She was able to hack into Vince's contract program thing, even I don't know what it is because I'm computer illiterate." Taker laughed. "And she updated the contracts of the people we wanted on our side."  
  
The Undertaker rubbed his chin thoughtfully and stared across the room.  
  
"So you two want my help to destroy Vince's company."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you want me to just turn on Vince like that because we're friends and you think I'll be able to really help you guys."  
  
"More or less, yeah."  
  
"And lastly, you're going to be able to get me the title that I deserve?"  
  
Shane grinned. "Absolutely. Can we count on you?"  
  
"Boy, you got yourself a deal." The Undertaker agreed while shaking his hand. "Give me a call when you and Steph figure this whole thing out." He said after signing him name on the new contract.  
  
"Knew I could depend on you." Shane said, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have some more locker rooms to visit. We'll be getting in touch!" He called as he was leaving the room. He leaned against the wall and smiled. This was working out perfectly. 


	9. Halfway there

Disclaimer: don't own anything, only the paper we type on, lol  
  
Shane strode through the corridors, feeling more confident since he'd got Undertaker to sign. He pulled his cell phone out and texted Steph  
  
"Taker's in"  
  
That would please her, he hoped she wouldn't shriek. He grinned at the thought of his sister screaming in the car lot, always so charged with emotion and unafraid to let it out. And sometimes, boy did she let it out! He couldn't help laughing at the thought of some of Steph's more emotional scenes he'd witnessed. His laughter gave people even more reason to stare at him, not that they weren't staring enough already, everyone was curious as to why he was here. His phone bleeped  
  
"Great, time for the rookies"  
  
As usual, Steph knew just what he was thinking. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and carried on down the corridor until he got to the door he needed. He knocked and waited silently for an answer. The door swung open to reveal a shirtless Jamie Noble, clad only in those denim cut-offs of his. Shane couldn't help smiling, this couple were anything but conspicuous  
  
"Mr Noble, I'm Shane Mcmahon......"  
  
"I know who you are" snapped Jamie "Just get to the point, I hate to leave Nidia waiting when she's hot"  
  
"Fair enough, could I come in where it's quieter? This won't take long, I promise"  
  
Jamie glared at him for a moment before speaking  
  
"I suppose if it's only quick," he said reluctantly  
  
He stood back to allow Shane to walk in and closed the door behind him. There was a yell from the adjoining room  
  
"Hey Jamie, what's taking so long? We were just getting started baby"  
  
"Sorry honey, we got an important visitor," Jamie yelled back as he pulled WWE Attitude T-shirt on  
  
"Oh yeah? Even more important than satisfying me?"  
  
"Yep, it's true" he gave Shane a nasty look "and you know how much I hate admitting that"  
  
"Fine I'll be out in a minute"  
  
"Well make it quick Mcmahon, you heard my woman" ordered Jamie, sitting back with a look that said 'impress me'  
  
Shane was floored for a moment, he hadn't been spoken to like this from such a minor member of the roster before, it was a new experience for him. But that was partly the reason he and Steph had wanted to recruit people like Jamie, they had such undiluted confidence and attitude, it was fresh and ready to mould.  
  
"My sister and I are planning to invade the WWE again" he began  
  
"Oh yeah? That worked well last time" cracked Jamie  
  
"It's an inside invasion this time, Steph has pulled out contracts through the computer system and when the time is right, she'll make sure that me and her will be the owners through her hacking skills" Shane didn't know why he felt the need to impress Jamie, probably to try to prove the validity of the plan and the power he and Steph had.  
  
"So you want to recruit me and Nidia? Who else is in?"  
  
"For now? The Undertaker, The UnAmericans and Rob Van Dam"  
  
Jamie blew out his breath a little at the impressive names  
  
"What have we got to gain from being on your side?"  
  
"By being under contract to us, you'll get prime time TV, title shots and all that comes with being in with the boss, you play our way and we reward those who are loyal and live up to their word"  
  
At that moment, the adjoining door opened and Nidia stepped out. Clad in her tiny skin-tight denim shorts and a red long sleeved top, she looked like Jamie's perfect partner.  
  
"Shane Mcmahon" she arched an eyebrow at him "How flattering to be paid a visit, what do you want here?"  
  
For a duo who were dismissed as 'trailor trash' or 'dumb', Shane realised that they hid a keen business sense behind their personalities. Not that they were putting on an act, they just chose to hide their mental assets. He smiled  
  
"I was hoping to recruit you and Jamie for our inside invasion"  
  
"And we get what?" she looked at Jamie  
  
"Prime time TV, the attention we deserve, all we want career wise if we're loyal to him and his sister" replied Jamie, pulling her onto his lap  
  
"Sounds a bona fide idea to me, what about you baby?"  
  
"The woman approves Mcmahon, lets see those contracts and we can talk business"  
  
*  
  
Fifteen agonising minutes later, Shane left their locker room with two new talents under the belt, not to mention a killer headache. He went in search of the locker room he was looking for and it only took him half an hour total to sign the final four members of their lethal group and left the arena with a smile on his face.  
  
"How'd everything go?" Stephanie practically pounced as soon as he opened the driver's side door of the car. "Was everything okay? Did you get everybody we wanted? Was anyone-"  
  
Shane held up his hand and stopped her rapid flow of questions. "Firstly, I need some Tylenol or something. Being in the same room as Noble and his girlfriend for so long gave me a headache." She handed him a couple of pills form a bottle in her purse and he swallowed them down with some water. "Alright." Stephanie was looking at him with an eager look on her face. "Everything went perfect. We got Taker, Noble and Nidia." He took out his organiser and studied the list. "John Cena, Batista, Molly, and Randy Orton ."  
  
Stephanie smiled and nodded appreciatively before pushing her hair away from her face. "So everything's going according to plan?" She asked.  
  
Shane nodded. "Exactly according to plan."  
  
"Good." She replied finally. "He won't know what hit him."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
*knock*knock*  
  
Stephanie opened her eyes slowly and winced as the bright sunlight assaulted her eyes. She looked down at the notebook in he lap and just realised she had fallen asleep in the middle of the planning. She looked up as the pounding on the door continued.  
  
"I'm coming!" She yelled, hastily tying a bathrobe around her waist. She rushed over and pulled open the door.  
  
"Morning!" Shane announced cheerfully, handing her a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Sorry if it's a bit early, but I told our roster to be here in about twenty minutes."  
  
"You, you what?" Stephanie managed out, setting the coffee on the end table as she stared at Shane incredulously. "You told them to all meet here?" He nodded. "In twenty minutes? Now what on Earth possessed you to do that?"  
  
Shane tilted his head to the side as he looked at her. "Steph, you called me last night and told me to get in touch with them all and set up the meeting. It was your idea."  
  
"Was it?" She asked slowly. "Oh yeah, that's right." She scanned the living room quickly and turned to Shane. "Could you do me a favor and get everything in order while I go get ready?" She didn't wait for his response and thanked him as she sprinted upstairs and into her bedroom.  
  
"Don't worry about anything!" Shane called after her sarcastically. 


	10. All together meeting

Disclaimer: we don't own any of the names mentioned so please don't sue us! We have nothing to give to u, lol  
  
Stephanie emerged ten minutes later after the quickest shower she'd ever had to find Shane lying out on the couch, his eyes closed and his expression serene. She smiled craftily, time to change that. She crept down the stairs and tiptoed over to the couch. With a sudden movement, she tipped it up so that Shane fell to the floor with a thud, waking up from the shock.  
  
"Oh ha ha sis, very funny, very mature" he said, dusting himself off as he got up  
  
"Had to get you back for waking me up so early" she said smiling "thanks for the coffee by the way, it helped me wake up"  
  
"Glad I could do something right this morning" Shane retorted, following her into the kitchen  
  
"Finished straightening things out for me?" she asked distractedly as she began pulling tins out of the cupboards  
  
"Didn't you notice the difference after all my hard work?" he said angrily, gesturing with his arms  
  
She smiled as she took everything in properly; it was all back in it's proper place and looked as stylish as it had been before. A lot of that was down to her interior design skills of course but she had to admit that Shane had done a great job  
  
"Yeah, I've noticed and you've really done me a big favour" she replied, finally finding what she was looking for "and your hard work seemed to culminate in you falling asleep on my couch"  
  
Shane just glared at her as she pulled the top off the tin in her hands and put the kettle on. She'd gotten to him which something he hated happening. In the end, he seemed to squash his anger and his curiosity took over as he looked over her shoulder  
  
"What are doing?" he asked finally  
  
"Making breakfast" she replied "it is still early and most normal people have breakfast early on in the day surprisingly, apparently it's good for you"  
  
"Steph, why are you having breakfast when we have our new talent coming around in less than five minutes?" he asked, his anger now barely under control  
  
"It's for them as well idiot, they're gonna be hungry too" she answered "now make yourself useful and make some toast or something"  
  
Shane groaned in frustration but did as his sister asked, after all they probably would be hungry when they all arrived soon and it was practical, much as he hated to admit it. Steph was relaxed, humming softly under her breath as she made a pot of coffee, she never got nervous about things as important as this because she was always confident in her and Shane's abilities. Shane more than made up for her not panicking anyway, he always began snapping when an important meeting came up because he was so charged up with nervous energy that he just lashed out. Once it all started, he would relax though, she knew he would. She carried the coffee and several mugs over to the living room table, motioning for Shane to bring the toast and the spreads to go with it. She cocked her head to one side as she took in what was on the table, sure there was something missing.  
  
"Oooh, cereals" she said suddenly, dashing back into the kitchen  
  
"Steph, why are you suddenly all concerned about what the talent are going to eat? You never used to give a crap about what happened to them, they were just meat on the page to you"  
  
She didn't say anything until she'd put the cereals and bowels on the table then straightened out to look him in the eye  
  
"Shane, before we treated them like they didn't matter, but they do and they did which is one of the reasons they began losing faith in us and why we weren't successful, you gotta start caring to show that you have faith, besides, they are our foundation" she said  
  
Before Shane could answer, there was a knock at the door. Steph turned to Shane excitedly.  
  
"How do I look?" she asked  
  
"Great, as usual" Shane said rolling his eyes  
  
He had to admit it, she did look great, maybe it was because of the operation. She wore a black backless top and a pair of her tight black leather trousers with it. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she'd finally stopped putting too much make up on, settling for mascara and eyeliner only. Shane shook his head slightly, she was going to knock them sideways.  
  
Steph opened the door with a smile to reveal the UnAmericans, all looking more than a little tired. They ambled in, saying their hellos blearily  
  
"Coffee guys?" offered Shane, motioning to the pot  
  
They all nodded, sitting down on the couch together. Shane grinned as they passed the coffee pot between them, pouring a cup each along the way. Steph opened the door again to let in Rob Van Dam who shook her hand, looking bright eyed and awake. Trust Rob to be cool early in the morning.  
  
"Sweet, you're serving breakfast" he said energetically  
  
He plopped down on a chair and grabbed himself a piece of toast, beginning to butter it quickly. Shane sat down, watching as Steph left the door open, allowing the talent to walk in freely. She sat down next to him, that calculating smile on her face  
  
"I think we picked right, these guys are meshing well as a group," she said quietly  
  
"I know" Shane replied  
  
As soon as they were all seated, Steph stood up and cleared her throat. The room fell respectfully silent  
  
"Thanks for coming today guys, you all know why you're here, Shane and I approached you all over the past week to ask you if you were willing to become part of an invasion, I know you all remember the disaster that was our last attempt" there was a ripple of laughter "but this is going to be different, this going to be an invasion starting from the inside and going to take over in one move, not slowly like last time but quickly and painfully for those cut off"  
  
Shane stood up beside Steph as a rumble of chatter broke out in the room. He waved a hand to get attention again  
  
"Simmer down everyone, you've all signed contracts and you're all willing to do what we ask, now some of you have benefited from the last invasion while others have seen the benefits, we want back what is rightfully ours, we know you want what is yours too - prime time TV to showcase your talents, to elevate yourselves even more, under our direction? It can happen, so we're here today to start planning, let it begin!"  
  
The people filling the room looked a little less excited then Stephanie had hoped; but she didn't let it faze her as she took a sip of coffee. Shane had to cover his mouth with to keep from laughing as everybody looked at each other with tired expressions on their faces.  
  
"So, when is this whole thing going to get started?" Lance Storm asked. "I mean, are we going to have any time to prepare for this at all?"  
  
Stephanie's mouth dropped and Shane jumped in before she strangled one of their talent. "We've already gone over that." He said, motioning to him and his sister. "We've spent nearly a month preparing for this. It should go into affect in about." He turned to Stephanie and furrowed his eyebrows. "Roughly a couple of weeks?" He guessed and she nodded.  
  
"Here's what I think we should do." The Undertaker started from his seat on the recliner.  
  
Stephanie's eyes narrowed. There is no way I'm permitting another Austin, she thought angrily. "We have the plans." She cut in, holding up a couple sheets of paper. "But your suggestions are always welcome."  
  
He gave her a dark glare before settling back down in the chair and pushed the bandana out of his eyes.  
  
Shane explained the plan while Stephanie sat back, proud of herself. Not only had she stood up to one of the men her father almost made her marry, but everything was coming along perfectly. She listened as Shane went into detail about the Pay-Per-View they'd be debuting on and the way they'd go about doing it. She looked around and noted the talent sitting around her living room.  
  
The Undertaker still sat back with his arms crossed in front of him, a permanent look of disdain on his face. Molly was nodding as she held the belt in her lap and next to her; Jamie Noble and Nidia were trying to concentrate as they made eyes at each other. Randy Orton and John Cena looked excited to be a part of something like this and RVD was sitting on the floor, his feet propped up by a pile of pillows.  
  
All in all a very good group to have, Stephanie told herself silently with a nod of her head.  
  
*Three Weeks Later*  
  
The phone rang and Stephanie's eyes snapped open immediately. She knew it was the wake-up call she requested, so she picked it and promptly dropped it back down in the cradle.  
  
She pushed the covers off and swung her feet onto the floor. Today was the day. Sunday. Judgment Day. Perfectly fitting, she smirked, taking some clothes out of her suitcase. She took a short, five-minute shower and threw her still wet hair up in a messy bun. She pulled on a white, ¾ length shirt and a pair of grays sweatpants. Her sneakers topped the outfit and she grabbed her purse and a baseball hat before running out of the room to meet Shane down in the lobby.  
  
He was sitting on a couch when she came down and he jumped up when she stepped off the elevator.  
  
"Come on." Stephanie urged as she rushed by him. "We need to get there as soon as possible."  
  
Shane followed her out to the waiting limo without a word and once they were in and on their way to the arena, she realized just how bad her brother looked.  
  
"Are you alright?" She asked watching as he rolled down the window, most likely to get some fresh air.  
  
He shrugged and fidgeted with the briefcase resting on his lap. "Just a little nervous I guess."  
  
Stephanie smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Everything will be fine." She assured. "Nothing's going to go wrong just as long as we stick to the plan."  
  
They rode the remainder of the ride in silence and both looked a little jumpy as the limo pulled to a stop backstage. Shane made them go over the plan once more, just to be on the safe side.  
  
Shane would distract the security guard, who was undoubtedly one of his friends. Stephanie would sneak in and once they were both safely inside, Shane would immediately go to their dad's office and talk him up; praise him about the good job he's been doing and generally build up a false sense of security. Stephanie would go straight to the makeshift "office" they knew would be there and then the real plan would begin.  
  
Stephanie got out of the car and had to push Shane forward, as if he didn't want to go through with this after all.  
  
He took a deep breath and walked towards the entrance as his sister hung back a little bit; all part of the plan.  
  
"What are you doing back here?" A huge man, who, Shane realized with a heavy heart, he didn't recognize, snapped at him.  
  
"I came to see my father." Shane responded. Vince had hired new security, what if he knew? Shane thought fearfully. He thought about Stephanie who was staying back behind some cars and squared his shoulders before pulling out his license.  
  
"Shane McMahon?" The guard, whose nametag read 'Tim', asked suspiciously.  
  
"Um, yeah." Shane answered.  
  
The guy smiled, which was something that didn't look like it happened often. "I seen all the shit you pulled with your sister last year. That was the funniest shit I've seen my whole life." He patted Shane on the shoulder. "Go ahead man. Give your sister props for me if you still talk to her."  
  
Shane, who looked ready to bolt as it was, forced a smile and stayed back. He still needed to distract him for Stephanie. "So do you still watch?" He asked, trying to keep up conversation.  
  
Tim nodded energetically. "Yeah I do. You know what I think?" He didn't give Shane a chance to answer. "I think you should get back on TV, wreak some more havoc. And you know what else I think?" He asked with a flourish of his hands. "Your sister should get together with Jericho."  
  
Stephanie looked up quickly as she snuck behind him and pretended to gag as she slipped in.  
  
"I think she should too." Shane agreed with a grin. "Listen, it was great talking to you but I should get going inside."  
  
"Alright man. Have a good time." Tim crossed his arms in front of his chest as after Shane walked in and put the menacing look back on his face. 


	11. First strike

No one gave Stephanie a second glance as she walked backstage, despite the fact that the corridors were filled with people from the talent roster and crew who all knew her well. She was thankful that she'd worn such casual un- Stephanie clothes, they were so used to seeing her in her skintight low cut affairs that they didn't recognize her dressed casually. She smiled as she continued walking; it was all going to plan. As she turned a corner, she bumped into someone; they reached out a hand to steady her. She looked up from under the peak of her baseball cap to see Rob smiling down at her mischievously.  
  
"Sorry ma'am" he apologized  
  
"That's ok" she replied trying not to laugh before adding in a quieter voice "good luck against Guerrero, not that you need it"  
  
He flashed a wide RVD smile and gave her a thumbs up before moving on. She resumed her course and reached the women's restroom, praying silently that it would be empty, it was. She retreated into one of the stalls and began carefully unpacking her bag she'd brought with her, it was time to transform into a business woman, Stephanie McMahon, co-owner of the WWE to be precise. She pulled a soft chocolate brown pants suit out and hung it up on the door; glad it was non-crease, adding a white button down shirt beside it. She pulled out her make-up bag and hairbrush, she just had to change and add the finishing touches, and she'd had a manicure the day before in preparation much to Shane's disbelief. Shane had told her to just be half an hour before meeting him in the office while he smoothed things over with Daddy. She didn't have much time to lose.  
  
*  
  
Shane took a shaky breath; this would be the hardest part of the plan. He went to knock on his Dad's office door when it suddenly opened and Ric Flair walked out. He beamed when he saw Shane who put a finger to his lips to silence Flair. Flair nodded and beckoned him away from the door.  
  
"Shane! Great to see you! What you doing here?" he asked  
  
"Got a little business to finish up" Shane replied, trying to sound cheerful  
  
"Business first, that's the McMahon way" laughed Flair "good luck kiddo, I'm off to prepare to kick Austin's ass"  
  
With a wave, he disappeared down the corridor. Shane smiled a little; Flair always made him smile, being so positive about everything. He knocked on the office door and heard a sharp command to enter. With a lump in his throat, he did. This was it.  
  
Vince had his back turned, talking on his cell phone but when he turned around and saw Shane, his face changed and he hurriedly wrapped things up on the phone. He looked at his soon with a mixture of suspiciousness and anger, waiting for him to speak.  
  
"Hey Dad, everything ready for the PPV?" asked Shane weakly  
  
"Not going to be bad, Austin's gonna finally get what's coming to him" replied Vince still suspicious "but you didn't come here to talk about PPV, what do you want?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean you walking into my office like nothing's happened when we both know that we haven't exactly been on civil speaking terms since the day after Survivor Series so what do you want?" asked Vince, his voice getting louder  
  
"I didn't want to leave things bad as they were between us, especially since the company's doing so well" said Shane, warming up "I mean you have Flair as a co-owner, one of the all time greats, you've got Austin where you want him, two great rosters of superb talent, everything, I didn't want your family to be the only thing letting you down and I wanted to say sorry for putting this off for so long"  
  
Vince looked at him slowly, trying to read his son's face but Shane stared back impassive, and he knew how to lock his dad out. Vince nodded a little and motioned for Shane to sit down.  
  
"I'm pleased to hear that Shane" he said at last "Stephanie hasn't talked to me for a while, I think she's still mad that she's not on TV and I know she's having problems with Hunter, I'm glad to see that one of my children isn't lost, that you can take it like man and have the courage to swallow your pride and admit defeat"  
  
Shane nodded; he wasn't admitting anything but Vince didn't need to know that. Pretending to go along with his father was the best tactic possible right now.  
  
"Well Shane, I accept your apology, it's good to see you back"  
  
They shook hands, stony-faced, knowing that neither of them trusted the other but it was a start.  
  
"I take it you're watching the show tonight?" asked Vince as he sat at his desk, beginning to sort through the papers on it  
  
"Yeah, got a ticket and everything" laughed Shane lightly "In fact, I told a few people I'd meet them so I'd better go and find them"  
  
He got up from his seat and headed for the door.  
  
"Oh Shane?"  
  
His father's voice stopped him, Shane turned around expectantly  
  
"You try anything to mess with my show and I'll have security throw you out faster than you can blink"  
  
Shane smiled, he didn't expect anything less. His father was a McMahon after all and he wasn't a fool. "Got it Dad"  
  
As soon as he closed the door, he couldn't stop smiling. Phase one complete, he quickly texted Steph to let her know he was on his way. Phase two was about to start.  
  
Stephanie looked up anxiously as she saw Shane approaching and put an indignant look on her face. "What are you doing here?" She asked once he could hear her.  
  
He looked at her with the same practiced look of disdain the McMahon's were so good at. "I could ask you the same thing dear sister of mine."  
  
"If you insist on knowing." She started evenly, not having to look around to know that people backstage had stopped and were now staring. "I have some things to take care of with writing department." She didn't wait for his response and brushed by him on her way to Vince's office. She heard the faint 'good luck' he whispered and she had to hide her grin.  
  
*  
  
Vince looked up as his door got knocked on for the umpteenth time that time and was pleasantly surprised to see his daughter, peering in the opened door cautiously. "Come on in Steph." He called.  
  
She smiled nervously and silently congratulated herself on being the terrific actress she was. "Hi Daddy." She managed out, taking a seat across from him. "Just let me talk so I can get this out." She rushed, seeing Vince getting ready to talk. He held up his hands in surrender and smiled as he sat back. "I just wanted to apologize for acting the way I did a couple of months ago. I was upset with having to take a backseat, but you're right." She grinned. "The writing team does need me."  
  
"You know, I'm proud of you for coming to your senses." Vince complimented. "You're apology is accepted." Stephanie smiled widely and tucked her hair behind her ears and reached for her purse when he stopped her. "Steph, did you know Shane was here?"  
  
Stephanie put a look of surprise on her face. "Really? What's he doing here?"  
  
Vince shrugged. "I'm not sure. But can you do me a favour and make sure he doesn't try anything? And if you see anything suspicious going on let me know?"  
  
"Of course Daddy. The last thing I'd want to happen is your Pay-Per-View gets ruined." She said pleasantly, standing up. "I'll come to you if anything gets weird." She assured. "Bye Dad!" She walked out of the room and once the door shut behind her, let out a huge sigh of relief.  
  
*  
  
Shane finished making his rounds with the security and headed back to their office. Threats had to be made, but there was no way either of them was getting thrown out for being a disturbance. He looked around and stepped into the room and saw Stephanie sitting at the chair, her legs crossed with a satisfied smirk on her face.  
  
"Everything went perfect." She said before he could say anything. "He bought everything and he's a little suspicious of you, but has me watching out for you."  
  
"He has you watching out for me?" Shane asked incredulously.  
  
Stephanie nodded and glanced at her watch. "We have five minutes. Does everybody know where they're going to be and what they have to do?"  
  
"Yup, we're good." Shane assured, pulling his jacket on over the button up shirt. "Sound booth has our music, technicians have our lighting. Our microphones are right there." He pointed to where they laid on the bench. "And our talent is ready." He said proudly.  
  
They glanced at each other nervously before jumping up at the same time.  
  
"Let's go." Stephanie said in a low voice, grabbing her microphone and hiding it under the jacket. She waited as Shane went out a couple of minutes before her and counted to fifteen before making her way out. She saw him walking ahead a couple of feet and put a look of disgust on her face. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and followed him up the stairs to the curtain.  
  
Shane gave her a quick squeeze on the arm and listened to the countdown the stage manager was whispering to them. Stephanie peaked out through the curtain and watched as all the lights went black. They heard the exclamations from JR and the King and the general tone of confusion from the audience. There was a noise behind them and turned around to see the Undertaker and RVD standing behind them, nervous looks on their faces.  
  
"You guys come out when we give you the cue." Shane instructed quickly as the opening notes to their music, 'The Game' by Disturbed, rang throughout the arena. They all listened as the opening lyrics passed by and Stephanie was proud of herself; the words had been perfectly fitting.  
  
[Tell me exactly what am I supposed to do/ Now that I have allowed you to beat me/ Do you think that we could play another game/ Maybe I could win this time]  
  
[I kind of like the misery you put me through/ Darling, you can trust me completely/ If you even try to look the other way/ I think that I could kill this time]  
  
There was a pause as the opening guitar sounded and the pyro went off as Shane and Stephanie McMahon stepped through the curtain and back into the limelight.  
  
The audience had to see who was interrupting the Pay-Per-View, but exploded in cheers when they saw Vince McMahon's two children back in the company.  
  
The two walked down the ramp, side by side, and Stephanie grinned at the positive reaction.  
  
"What the hell are those two doing here?" JR exclaimed. "This is incredible! I never thought they'd have the courage to come back here to face their father!"  
  
"Who cares why they're here!" The King yelled. "They're going to create conflict and try to save the WWE!"  
  
Stephanie knew that most of the applause was for Shane and not her, but didn't let it get to her. She was back where she belonged. She climbed up the steps as Shane followed and she stood in the middle of the ring, hands resting on her hips.  
  
Shane waited until the audience had quieted down and the music faded before brining the microphone to his lips. "Damn it feels good to be back!" He exclaimed, earning even more cheers. Stephanie stayed quiet for the time being, realizing she could switch the mood in a matter of seconds.  
  
"I guess that Stephanie and Shane want what's rightfully theirs." The King commented while keeping his eyes glued to the ring.  
  
"I still can't believe it." JR muttered, shaking his head.  
  
Stephanie picked up her own microphone upon seeing the confused look on the older announcer's face and smirked before talking. "Now I know I'm the last person any of you would want to see." She paused as the audience started booing and turned to Shane, who gave her a comforting glance. It was his turn to be the reassuring McMahon child. "But I'm speaking for everyone when I say that this company has gone nothing but downhill ever since splitting up the roster and shows." This time there was a little less booing and more cheering. She was about to say something else when their father appeared at the top of the ramp.  
  
"What the hell is the meaning of this and where is security?!" Vince demanded with an outraged look on his face.  
  
"Take a look for yourself." Shane said smugly. The Titantron turned on to reveal footage of the security office. Most of the guards were tied to the chairs and they were being guarded heavily by Test, John Cena, and Randy Orton.  
  
Realization dawned on Vince's face and he figured out what was going on right before being blindsided by RVD and then choke slammed by the Undertaker. 


	12. Trusting the talent

Disclaimer: we don't own anything so don't try to sue!  
  
Steph watched in delight as Vince lay still on the ramp, cheers roaring throughout the arena. Undertaker easily picked up Vince's limp body and slung it over his shoulder. He knocked fists with RVD and began making his way down the ramp with Rob following close behind. Shane turned to Steph and saw the oh-so-familiar smile erupt over her face, that smile that said she knew she was winning and that she was loving it. He couldn't help smiling too and held a hand up to her which she gleefully slapped with one of her own in a high five. Undertaker stepped between the ropes and deposited Vince non too gently on the canvas and stood over him sneering.  
  
"You see Daddy, we're not here to beg for forgiveness, we're not here to invade you, we're here to take you over" said Steph  
  
"What?" yelled J.R "That's not possible!"  
  
"You're telling me" responded the King "The amount of red tape on those WWE documents could be used to start a shop"  
  
"That's right Dad, we have here several legally binding documents that class us as the owners of the WWE, the co-owners, you're looking at your new bosses and we didn't do it alone, soon you'll find out who our allies are and how this invasion has just been completed because this can't be solved at a PPV or the boardroom, this has been sewn up completely tonight" said Shane triumphantly  
  
"The Co-owners? Those two can't even get along as brother and sister, how are they going to cope as business partners?" exclaimed J.R  
  
"They'll do just fine J.R because you know that the Mcmahon way is the only way" answered the King  
  
In the ring, Shane, Steph, Undertaker and Rob stood in a circle around Vince's body. One by one they thrust a hand into the centre so that they were joined over Vince then pulled them down, up and out. The music blared into the arena and Steph watched in pleasure as the crowd cheered, she lifted her head and breathed out smiling. Shane moved out of the ring and held the ropes open for his sister and then helped her down from the apron. They were followed swiftly at Rob and Undertaker, silent and glowering. As soon as they reached the other side of the curtain, Steph let out a triumphant whoop, she'd learnt that her ear piercing screeches didn't always endear her to people. She pumped the air and grabbed her amused brother into a jubilant hug.  
  
"We did it! We did it!" she said in a sing-song voice  
  
"Steph get off me, I have a rep to protect" said Shane but he hugged her tightly before letting her go, his relief that everything had gone according to plan evident.  
  
Steph turned back to where Undertaker stood leaning against the wall, his face as usual serious, almost scowling. Couldn't he just lighten up? She knew better than to even question him about it, he'd give some macho answer anyway.  
  
"Thank you guys, you were amazing" she chattered "and Taker, I know that you are going to win that title easily tonight when you face Hollywood Hogan"  
  
Disgust dripped off her last two words. Shane couldn't help smiling; he remembered a time when Steph loved Hogan and cheered for him backstage but that was a long time ago, before Hunter had opened her eyes to the cold harsh world of business and changed her forever. If he reminded her of that time, she'd laugh and shake her head, it was nothing more than a distant memory to her. As it should be for him but he couldn't help remembering.  
  
"She's right man, it's as good as yours" Shane added, his usual exuberance creeping into his words  
  
Undertaker observed them from behind his shades silently, his hard frown unmoving before speaking.  
  
"I don't need you two to tell me that I'm going to win" he said slowly and menacingly "and I am not one of your henchmen so this stops now, it stopped after the Corporate Ministry, understand"  
  
"Perfectly" replied Shane quickly, seeing the eye narrowed look that Steph shot at him.  
  
Undertaker nodded and without a word, walked away down the corridor.  
  
"Well I've gotta go get ready, I have a match next for the Intercontinental title" Rob said breaking the stony silence  
  
"You go for it Rob" said Steph, her happiness returning "you can beat that Latino Creep"  
  
"And you know it" laughed Rob as he walked away  
  
"Now Steph, don't start yelling about how Undertaker's gonna become another Austin" began Shane before his sister could speak "he is the most valuable worker we have right now, he's gonna win the Undisputed title tonight for one thing plus he's been here longer than anyone, he knows what works and what doesn't"  
  
"Granted" said Steph shortly  
  
The subject was closed, it was evident that she didn't completely trust Undertaker which Shane guessed was acceptable since Dad had tried to marry her off to him in a black wedding. She could never let bygones be bygones, accept that Taker had just been a pawn in one of Dad's games as they all had. He sighed and shook his head, the PPV had only just started and they had a lot things to do for the invasion to be fully completed before tomorrow's Raw.  
  
"Steph, you in contact with the others?" he asked  
  
"Sure, just as you are"  
  
"Check they know what they're doing, we don't want to screw up now"  
  
"Don't sweat it Shane, by the end of the night, we'll be standing tall in that ring, our pack and everyone will know that we are the owners, where we rightly belong" She didn't give him a chance to respond and spun on her heel before stalking away, most likely towards their office.  
  
Shane watched as she walked away; hand on one hip, head slightly cocked to the side; a sure sign that she was in deep thought about something. He sighed and shook his head and hoped to all things holy that everything would turn out okay.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Stephanie looked up warily as the door was slowly pushed open and her hired security stepped into the room. "What do you want?"  
  
"Miss McMahon, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle would like to speak to you." Jeremy said, dropping his voice to prevent it from being heard.  
  
Her eyes widened and she set her mouth in a hard line. "You can let them in, but can you do me a favour and just stay in the room?" The guard nodded. "Thanks, it's just that I don't feel completely comfortable with these two."  
  
The door shut and opened a couple of seconds later. Kurt strolled in happily, glad to see Stephanie back. Chris, on the other hand, walked in a little after him, looking cautiously at the female behind the desk. They both took a seat and Stephanie looked at them expectantly.  
  
"So how can I help you two?" She asked pleasantly. "Especially you Chris, after that wonderful match that screwed me over." Her voice dropped with sarcasm and he winced.  
  
"How come you never told me about this?" Kurt demanded, putting both of his elbows on the desk in front of him. "I mean, I was insulted. I thought we were friends Steph."  
  
She grinned so insincerely that only Jericho saw it. "Kurt we are friends. But point blank, I wouldn't trust you to take out my trash. Why would I trust you with something as big as this?"  
  
Kurt pushed back from the desk and glowered over her before being grabbed roughly by the security.  
  
"Is there a problem Sir?" Jeremy demanded as he held Kurt tightly by his shoulder.  
  
"Get the hell away from me." Kurt said angrily. He stared at Steph for a second, not blinking, not taking his eyes off of her. She knew he was trying to intimidate her, and simply stared right back.  
  
"I think you were leaving." She said evenly, pointing to the door with her index finger. She watched as he was completely thrown out of the room and then turned to Jericho, who was playing with the ceramic figure on her desk. "So what did you want?" She asked and he jumped before setting it back down.  
  
"I wanted to know if I could be a part of-"  
  
"No."  
  
His eyes widened and he sat back in his seat. "What do you mean no? You have no idea what I was even going to ask you!"  
  
Stephanie nodded. "Yeah I do. Instead of going to my father, who is incapacitated at the moment, to ask for airtime, you're coming to ask me to join mine and Shane's new alliance. And the answer is no. Was there something else you wanted?"  
  
"You're still such a bitch." Jericho muttered, getting up from the chair.  
  
She smirked before waving at him with her fingers. "I'd watch what you said from now on Chris. You don't know about half of the people I control." 


	13. Never trust a Mcmahon

Disclaimer: we don't own anything so be nice and don't sue  
  
"Control? Princess, no one is loyal to you, you should know that by now" sneered Jericho, one hand on the door, preparing to open it.  
  
"Oh please Jericho, don't you think I might have learnt from the last invasion? I now know what it is I have to do to gain people's trust, you on the other hand I'd never trust because the minute I'd turn my back you'd stick a knife in it, goodbye"  
  
It was a commanding dismissal but Jericho stood his ground for a few more moments  
  
"Face it Stephanie, we're too much alike for your own comfort and you don't want to admit that, see ya"  
  
He slipped out of the door before Steph could pull herself together enough to snap back an answer. She fumed, feeling her anger rising again but clenched her fists at her sides, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms. She was not going to lose her temper, she was not. First that idiot security guard at the door had the pathetic idea that she and Jericho would make a cute couple and now Jericho suggested that they were alike!  
  
"In his dreams" she muttered, sitting herself down on the couch  
  
There was a soft tap at the door and Shane poked his hair around it. He sighed inwardly when he saw Steph, she looked as though she was ready to explode, her scowl ferocious, her eyes narrowed. He smiled tentatively, he didn't really want to be on the end of her anger right now  
  
"Hey sis, what's up?" he tried, stepping inside  
  
"Jericho" she hissed "he just..he...urgh!"  
  
She couldn't splutter out what he'd done, causing Shane to grin widely. Jericho always got under Steph's skin everytime, just as she got under his. Shane sat down next to Steph and put a comforting hand on her knee  
  
"Its OK Steph, we can fire him if you want" he said consolingly  
  
"Really?" Steph perked up at this suggestion "oh but he's a good talent, it's just his personality that needs an overhaul"  
  
"Like a lot of people around here" Shane teased "but don't worry because tonight, the two people you hate most are going to be tearing each other apart in a Hell in a Cell"  
  
"I know, Hunter and Jericho will mutilate each other" she said laughing "and I get to watch"  
  
Shane shook his head, it never failed to amaze him at the pleasure Steph got from her enemies pain, it was kind of twisted. But that was Steph. He got up and flicked the monitor on in front of them, handing her a cup of coffee as he sat down again. On screen Rob was flying into a split legged moonsault onto Guerrero. Steph smiled, he really was an arial master. The plan was for her and Shane to watch the show and help out those of their group who needed it so that by the end, their whole pack would be victorious. She took a gulp of coffee, it wasn't too bad, not like the muck she'd been given before.  
  
"So all the contracts are signed and sealed?" she asked, her eyes not leaving the monitor  
  
"Every last one" replied Shane patiently  
  
"And they're in a safe place?"  
  
"Locked up them away safely where Dad won't think of looking for them, any memory of us using his computer system will be wiped right?"  
  
"Sure thing, he'll never know"  
  
Shane sat back, locking his fingers behind his head. He loved it when everything went to plan. The atmosphere in the room was comfortable, broken only be Steph's bursts of shouts at the screen, cheering Rob on or insulting Eddie. Stephanie gulped her coffee down quickly, her eyes widening as she took everything in that happened on screen.  
  
"He's going to win! That creep Guerrero is going to win!" she yelled suddenly  
  
She was right, Guerrero definitely had the upper hand and was gleefully picking Rob apart. Shane's mind raced, this was not going to plan, Rob had pretty much guaranteed that he'd bring the Intercontinental title to them at the end of the night and right now, it didn't look like it was happening. Shane felt gravity shift as Steph leapt off the couch, that unmissable determined look on her face. He quickly got to his feet and grabbed her arm before she could move anywhere  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked  
  
"Out there to help Rob, where else? Now let go of me!" she said through gritted teeth  
  
"Oh no you're not" corrected Shane shaking his head "you know what happens when you try and help people out in the ring, you get hurt or knocked out or the people you try to help lose"  
  
"Hey! I helped Hunter to several title victories as well as Kurt to his first" Steph snapped back, her eyes flashing "if people want to hurt me or get in the way then that's their problem"  
  
Shane sighed, dropping his head to gather his thoughts but keeping an iron grip on Steph's arm as she tried to struggle away.  
  
"No Steph, I don't want you getting hurt, besides we do have other people to help us" he said finally  
  
"Fine" Steph sat down suddenly, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling like a sulking teenager "call someone to do it for us then"  
  
Shane smiled at her childishness that she'd never quite outgrown. He pulled his cell out of his suit pocket and dialled a number. As soon as the person answered, he began speaking  
  
"Jamie, Shane here...yeah glad you liked the way we took care of Vince...now listen, I want you to get out there and help Rob win, we want that Intercontinental title in the right hands....yes you can take Nidia with you.....as in now, yes right now, get going, do whatever it takes but don't let the ref catch you...yeah bye"  
  
He snapped the phone off and put it back into his pocket before turning to smirk at his sister  
  
"Taken care of, happy?" he asked  
  
"Very." Stephanie answered back with a smirk on her face. They watched the monitor as Jamie Noble and Nidia raced down to the ring. The referee tried telling them to go back and Nidia smiled.  
  
"We're just here to watch." She said innocently, taking her place on the outside of the ring, just closest to Eddie. Jamie took the side opposite from her and Eddie was looking at them warily, still making sure to keep one eye on his prone opponent. He made up his mind to go for the Five Star Frog Splash and Jamie rushed over and pulled one of his legs out from underneath him.  
  
The referee instantly rushed over and had his back turned to RVD, who had grabbed the belt. He looked over to make sure the referee was preoccupied with the two and rushed at Eddie, slamming him upside the head with the metal. Eddie instantly fell to the ground, near unconscious, and RVD took the opportunity to climb up the turnbuckles and execute a perfect Frog Splash. The ref turned back around and counted out the 1, 2, and 3.  
  
"He won!" Stephanie exclaimed, jumping up off the couch. She grabbed her jacket and didn't even wait for Shane as she rushed out of the room to meet Rob at the curtain.  
  
"Steph wait!" Shane called as he ran behind her. She paid no attention to him and only stopped when she saw Rob pushing back the curtain, walking with a slight limp.  
  
She supported one side of him and he smiled gratefully. "You did terrific." She complimented as the three walked back towards the medics.  
  
Shane stopped walking. "I'll meet you guys there. I want to tell Jamie and Nidia what a great job they did." He waited until Stephanie nodded and walked briskly over to the locker room of the Cruiserweight Champion and his girlfriend.  
  
RVD watched warily as Stephanie led him past the usual medic's room. "Hey Steph, I need to go that way." He pointed. "If I want to get my leg checked out."  
  
She smiled genuinely. "Rob, do you honestly think we'd let our talent be treated the same as everyone else?" She didn't give him a chance to respond and held a door open for him. She followed him in and nearly bumped into him as he stopped abruptly. Stephanie put her hands on her hips and smiled as she glanced around at the room that only McMahon money could have bought.  
  
There were three different areas sectioned off in the otherwise open room. One section was filled with various exercise equipment, including a full set of free weights and a hot tub. The second was a medic's station where Christian was presently getting his knee taped up. He gave them a half- hearted wave as Rob sat in the chair opposite of him.  
  
"That was a killer title defense." RVD complimented, sliding his knee brace off.  
  
Christian shrugged. "Yeah I guess. But we would have been dead if drew hadn't come out to help. I wish the writing team would have us legitimately win a match for once." He said pointedly in Stephanie's direction.  
  
She stifled a groan and then glanced back at the two. "I'll see what I can do." She said finally.  
  
All three of them looked up as a loud commotion was heard in the doorway.  
  
Stephanie got up and walked over briskly, Christian and RVD behind her. She rolled her eyes when she saw her ex-husband, Kurt Angle, and Edge protesting to some security guards. "It's the three stooges." She commented loudly, getting their attention. "Get Jericho over here and we got ourselves a par-tay."  
  
Triple H narrowed his eyes and tried to take a step towards her but was stopped by security. "I don't know what you're trying to pull Steph, but I want you to know that whatever it is, I'll be combating you one hundred percent of the way."  
  
"I would have been disappointed if you didn't." Stephanie replied easily.  
  
"And I still don't get why you picked those two losers over me." Kurt complained, gesturing to RVD and Christian.  
  
Edge nodded in agreement. "Right, we are so much better then those dorks. Kurt and myself would have made better additions to-" He stopped when Triple H hit him upside the head. "Ow, what the f... What was that for?"  
  
"We're supposed to be threatening her." He explained. "Not trying to join her side." He put his hand to his forehead. "You both are jackasses; I swear to God you are."  
  
Stephanie watched with arms crossed over her chest, an amused smile on her face. She leaned over so she was right next to him and whispered in his ear: "I don't think the enemy is supposed to be hearing your strategy."  
  
He pulled back as if he got burned and scowled at her before stalking away. He was followed closely by edge and Kurt Angle, who kept glancing back at the room Stephanie was in.  
  
"That is so sad." She muttered before pulling the door shut.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Shane kept glancing over his shoulder as he ran as fast as he could down the narrow hallway. His father's protests could be heard as he ran. "He's not supposed to be able to run this fucking fast." Shane muttered, fumbling with his two-way as he pulled it out of his pocket. He sent out a quick message and looked up just in time to avoid running into Hulk Hogan and the Rock. "Shit."  
  
"Woah, woah. Where are you off to in such a hot hurry?" The Rock asked, steadying him with one hand. "Think you're all big and bad-ass setting this up with your sister and now you're running away?"  
  
Shane swallowed dryly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Vince rounding the corner, a pure death glare on his face. He then looked past the two and a smile came to his face.  
  
"And now he's smiling." Hogan pointed out. "The stupid boy don't know he's about to get his ass kicked. Doesn't surprise-" He was cut off as the two of them were attacked from behind by the Un-Americans.  
  
Vince saw this and skidded to a stop. This wasn't supposed to happen. Apparently he had underestimated his children; they were McMahon's after all. He watched as Shane stood apart from it, a smug smile on his face.  
  
"How ya feeling Dad?" He called mockingly, once Hogan and the Rock were lying prone on the ground. "I knew that you didn't trust me when I came to your office, but you let me stay anyway. So actually, you kinda brought this upon yourself." He turned around and started walking away when he stopped again and faced his father. "Oh and Dad, you don't have to bother coming to RAW tomorrow, they have no need for you in the production crew."  
  
Vince observed Shane walking away and only until he couldn't see him anymore did he kneel down to try and help his two fallen superstars. 


	14. Being set up

Disclaimer: we don't own anything!!  
  
"Man, that feels better!" sighed Rob, lifting his foot off the table  
  
The trainer nodded, rolling up the tape and packing it away. Rob flexed his leg experimentally, it felt good, it felt like he could wrestle on it. He turned to Steph who sat on a large black leather chair looking pleased.  
  
"Steph, this is so awesome, I mean having our own room here and I got my title" enthused Rob, holding his title half up  
  
"Only the best" replied Steph, unscrewing a bottle of water  
  
The door opened and Jamie Noble and Nidia appeared, looking hot and happy. There were no prizes for guessing how they celebrated the successful run- in. Jamie sat down on the couch, Nidia sitting down on his lap  
  
"Good job guys" said Steph "did Shane catch up with you and thank you?"  
  
"Sure did, only happy to help ya" replied Jamie, slipping an arm around Nidia's waist  
  
"This is the beginning guys" said Steph, serious suddenly "you see what we can achieve if we work together? We can win matches, get titles, be on top for years to come"  
  
"Lets face it Steph, you'd know all about being on top wouldn't you?" a smug voice called from the doorway  
  
"Jericho, a little delayed in your entrance aren't you?" Steph retorted, unfazed  
  
"How'd you mean?"  
  
"The three stooges were here earlier, you missed the little bitter-protest- and-bitchy-complaining session initiated by Hunter, Edge and Angle"  
  
"Those ass-clowns? What do I want with them? Besides I have a date to kick your husbands ass in a few matches time and being friends with the guy backstage just won't cut it now would it Princess?" he moved into the room  
  
Rob and Jamie got up to eject him but Steph stopped him with a wave of her hand, her eyes never leaving Jericho  
  
"Lets just see what he wants before we throw him out" she said  
  
"Sweet pad" Jericho responded, looking around the room "even a living legend such as me hasn't got a room like this, I should talk to your dad about it"  
  
"He wouldn't, Mcmahon money Jericho" replied Steph with a smile  
  
"Of course, that never ending cash supply known as your father" snorted Jericho "when's he gonna wise up and see that everytime he turns his back on you and Shane, you stick a knife in it?"  
  
"We learned from the best Jericho" said Steph darkly "we learnt from him"  
  
"Whatever, you can calm down guys" he said to the standing superstars "I'm leaving, just wanted to see what Steph had here, now I gotta go start preparing to kill Hunter, adios!"  
  
Steph was about to say good luck but caught herself in time, why would she say good luck to Jericho? Even if he was fighting her ex-husband? She shook her head confused as Jericho disappeared out of the door, God she despised him, he even stopped her thinking straight.  
  
"Thanks for the back up" she said to the guys "he'd just come to cause trouble as usual"  
  
As Steph dropped back into chair, Shane burst into the room.  
  
"We've got a problem" he gasped  
  
"What? What?!" demanded Steph, already beginning to panic a little  
  
Shane held a hand up as he collapsed into the nearest chair and drank deeply from a water bottle handed to him before speaking  
  
"Well the good news is that Dad tried to catch me and failed even though Hogan and Rocky tried to stop me but the UnAmericans beat them down from behind"  
  
"What's the bad news?" piped up Nidia  
  
"That Austin is on the warpath, for some reason, he wants to talk to us" replied Shane, his eyes wide, looking at Steph  
  
As if on cue, loud and powerful banging began on the door. Shane, Jamie, and Nidia all jumped at the sound. Stephanie, however, every bit the businesswoman, got up off the chair after taking a deep breath. She smoothed the front of her pants and pushed her hair behind her shoulders before walking over to the door.  
  
"You're letting your sister go over there because you're too scared?" Nidia asked, a questioning look on her face.  
  
"I am not scared." Shane replied indignantly, hurrying after his sister.  
  
Stephanie pulled the door open and visibly braced herself.  
  
"Hogan and Rock are up and better and are so pissed off at us." Christian exclaimed with an almost childlike smile on his face. Lance Storm and Test were behind him, looking less thrilled with the idea of being pursued by two legends.  
  
"So you guys ran from them?" Stephanie asked, letting them into the room. She rolled her eyes as they hurried in and peered out the door to see if anybody else was coming. She clenched the doorframe when she saw Austin turning around the corner. He caught sight of her and changed his direction, heading straight towards her.  
  
Stephanie tried putting on the biggest, most sincere smile she could muster. She bit her bottom lip and cursed silently when she felt herself shaking. "Austin, what can I do for you?" She asked once he was close enough to hear.  
  
"I wanna talk to you and your brother." He growled.  
  
"Of course." She motioned him into the room and watched him carefully as his eyes narrowed. "Is something the matter?"  
  
"I wanna talk to you and your brother, in private." Austin clarified, shooting impatient looks at RVD, the Un-Americans, and Noble with Nidia.  
  
Shane got up. "Of course. Guys, if you don't mind." He trailed off pointedly. The six left the room after being assured that everything was fine.  
  
Once the door was shut firmly Stephanie's face hardened. "Now tell us what the hell you want." She snapped. Shane jumped at the abrupt attitude change, even though he should have been used to it by now.  
  
"Is that any way to talk to the new leader of your group?" Austin sneered, taking a step towards her.  
  
"Fuck that." She spat out, not moving. "If you think for one minute that we're going to accept you in and assume all leadership roles to you then you are so in for a rude awakening."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
"Tell me, do I look like I'm joking?" She answered evenly.  
  
Shane was about to step in when he came across the sudden realization that there were not many people Stephanie was afraid to stand up to. She could verbally go up against the best of them and usually come out the victor. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of skin hitting skin. He thought the worst for Steph until he looked up and saw Austin with a handprint on his cheek and Stephanie with her hand raised, ready to strike again.  
  
"You have no idea who you're messing with." Austin hissed, stalking out of the room.  
  
"Apparently I do!" She called after him, an over-joyed look on her face. "I so just stuck up to Austin." She announced happily to Shane, who still had an amazed look on his face. "Did you see that?"  
  
~+~+~+~  
  
"Shane, would you do me a favour?"  
  
He looked up from the paperwork warily. "I guess so."  
  
Stephanie looked at him innocently as she propped her feet up onto the desk. "Well since Taker is going to beat Hogan, somebody, one of us, needs to go out there at the end of the match and read our little statement." She put one hand behind her head and held the paper out to him.  
  
"And let me guess." Shane started. "You want me to go out there?"  
  
"Yeah, that was kinda the favor." Stephanie answered. "I would but," She lowered her voice. "Do you know how many people out there would love to get the chance to kick my ass?" She asked. "It's pretty scary if you think about it and I am your little sister and all." She trailed off and looked down at her nails slowly.  
  
Shane groaned. "Fine, I'll do it." He agreed, snatching the paper from her outstretched hand. He scanned it quickly and nodded. "Alright."  
  
"You're the best!" Stephanie practically squealed, this time regaining her composure so she didn't hug him and embarrass them both.  
  
Twenty minutes later Stephanie stood up and watched from the door as Shane walked down the hall. She was about to turn around when someone coming from around the corner caught her eye. It was Jericho and he had his sights set on Shane. Before Stephanie could call out a warning he had attacked Shane from behind with a chair, knocking him unconscious.  
  
Stephanie stood frozen to the spot and Jericho turned around and spotted her and smirked. She tried getting back into her office and found out the hard way that the door had locked behind her, the keys inside. "Shit." She muttered when she realized her cell phone was in there too.  
  
Jericho was getting closer and she began to run, not quite sure where it was she was trying to get to. She turned a corner and tripped over someone, sending both of them sprawling to the floor.  
  
"Can I help you?" Edge asked jokingly as she got off of him. He helped her up and looked up to see Jericho sprinting towards the two.  
  
Stephanie took a deep breath and did the most pathetic thing she had ever done in her whole life; she hid behind Edge. "Don't let him get to me." She whispered, hoping that he'd heard her. "Jericho, what's going on?" Edge asked, cocking his head to one side. "You look like you're awfully excited to see someone."  
  
"Just move aside Junior." He snapped. "I just wanna talk to the princess alone."  
  
"I'm sure you do." Stephanie shot back. "But she'll talk to you alone when pigs fly out of your ass."  
  
Edge shook his head at the bickering. "Just chill you two." He smirked and turned to Stephanie. "Besides, I'm pretty sure there's someone else who wants to see you just as bad."  
  
Her eyes narrowed and then let out a scream of protest when Edge hoisted her over his shoulder. She could see Jericho laughing as he followed them and realized she had just been set up. 


	15. What a freak out!

Disclaimer: we own nothing, sorry!  
  
"Shane, get you ass off the floor boy!" a voice rumbled through Shane's consciousness  
  
His head felt as though it had exploded, leaving him unable to open his eyes. Someone shook him hard, jolting him further out of the thick heavy fog that seemed to surround him and more back to reality. He braced himself and opened his eyes a crack to find Undertaker bending over him, a furious look in his eyes. Shane bit back a groan, he seriously wasn't in the mood for a confrontation with Taker, that required full consciousness and sharp thinking, both of which he lacked in right now.  
  
"I know you're awake so you'd better tell me what the hell happened!" ordered Undertaker  
  
Steph wouldn't have stood for being ordered around, especially by Undertaker but Shane understood that sometimes it was best to let these things happen. Slowly he sat up, letting the swimming colours before his eyes settle so that he could take everything in; he was sitting in the corridor, a tender lump forming on the back of his head. Undertaker was dressed in his ring gear, pushing his shades up from in front of his eyes to on top of his head, he hadn't been in the ring yet Shane noted  
  
"What match is going on?" asked Shane suddenly  
  
"Jericho and Hunter are in the cell" replied Taker "but that don't matter, what matters is that I found you sprawled out in the corridor like a dead man so you owe me an explanation"  
  
Shane frowned as he tried to remember, it all seemed to be swimming around in his head without finding a distinct landing spot. Then it all rushed back to him in jarring clearness  
  
"I was attacked from behind" he said slowly "steel chair shot to the head, I was knocked out so before you ask, I dunno who did this"  
  
"Where's your sister?" asked Taker abruptly  
  
"In the office probably" replied Shane puzzled "why?"  
  
"Because I've been ringing her on that cell of her's since I found you but she ain't answering"  
  
"She hasn't answered?"  
  
"Nope"  
  
Shane frowned, Steph always kept her cell on her wherever she was, just in case someone rang her. She never left it behind anywhere, unless...  
  
"Oh hell" swore Shane "I bet they've got her"  
  
He began trying to unsteadily getting to his feet before wobbling and nearly collapsing when Taker grabbed his arm to stop him falling.  
  
"You'd better get your legs straightened because I sure as hell ain't carrying you into that office" warned Taker  
  
Shane nodded, his head clearing a little now as he began walking slowly back towards the office. The door was shut tightly. He knocked hard but there was no answer, he tried again louder but still no one answered. He pulled a key from his pocket and quickly shakily unlocked it, throwing the door open and rushed in. Steph's cell-phone lay on the arm of the chair she's been sitting on, the screen showing the number of messages Taker had left for her. Shane picked it up then threw it back down again, swearing under his breath as he brought a hand to his aching forehead. Taker stood in the doorway not speaking as he watching Shane start to panic  
  
"Shane" he said finally "how do you know she's been taken?"  
  
"On a night this important, Steph would never leave without telling me where, for one thing it's Hunter and Jericho's match and she really wanted to see that, she just wouldn't do this alright? She just wouldn't" Shane trailed off miserably  
  
"Want me to call in the troops?" asked Taker, scratching his chin lazily  
  
Shane nodded wearily. Steph might not be willing to let the Undertaker take on a leadership role but under the circumstances, Shane definitely thought it was for the best.  
  
"Get as many of them as you can back here, we can start planning how to find her" he sighed  
  
"You got it boss" Taker said with a faint trace of sarcasm, a smile playing on his lips  
  
Shane grinned; he knew that in his relationship, you could never tell who was in charge  
  
*  
  
"You let me go! Do you hear? Let me go?"  
  
Steph's voice was getting dangerously close to screech level, Edge winced at the pitch of her voice. Steph continued to beat his back with her fists, determined not to let them see her worry or afraid, just her anger, her most dangerous weapon besides her sharp barbed tongue. She could see Jericho walking languidly behind them, whistling cheerfully and sometimes miming an air guitar. She rolled her eyes, it was probably that band he liked so much Fozzy, he was always singing or humming or whistling one of their songs. It was one of the many things about him that drove her crazy.  
  
"Well I have to get going now Edgster" Jericho spoke up "I have a cell to enter and an opponent to destroy"  
  
"Knock yourself out" replied Edge "catch you later though?"  
  
"Whatever remains they scrape off the steel will be delivered to the room" answered Jericho, a smirk in his voice "though I suspect it'll be Hunter's remains that'll fit in a box not mine"  
  
He bent down so that he was looking into Steph's face. She looked back blankly, willing herself to hide every shred of anger and insults she wanted to throw at him, she smiled a little. Jericho smirked, when he began speaking, she could smell pizza on his breath  
  
"Have a nice ride Princess" he said sneering "looks like your invasion just got derailed"  
  
"Bye Chris" she said sweetly, secretly applauding herself for her self control  
  
Jericho gave her a strange look, like he wasn't able to work her out before straightening out, turning on his heel and walking away. Steph smiled evilly to herself, one to her. With a jolt Edge started moving again then he stopped just as suddenly as he started  
  
"Here we are" he said cheerfully "that'll be five dollars and a tip for the ride"  
  
"I'll be sure to tip you after the return trip" Steph replied, once again keeping the anger out of her voice  
  
Edge knocked on a door in front of him, Steph heard it swing open squeaking and the slap of hands meeting in a jubilant high five. She was about to find out the reason she'd been grabbed and that was when she'd let her anger loose.  
  
*  
  
"Stephanie!"  
  
"Where are you Steph!?"  
  
"This is hopeless." Shane said glumly to RVD.  
  
He shook his head in response. "No it's not. We just gotta keep looking. She has to be somewhere in the arena."  
  
Shane looked up at the group of security that approached him. "Well did you find her? Hear anything about her? Know who it was?"  
  
One stepped forward and shook his head. "Sorry Mr. McMahon, we haven't heard anything about your sister."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Stephanie scowled as she was pushed down into a chair and faced the leather chair that was turned away from her. "So." She started, drumming her fingers against the arm of the chair. "Did you bring me here for a reason or are you just going to stare at the wall the whole time?"  
  
The person in the chair turned around and she found herself face to face with her dad.  
  
"What a surprise." Vince deadpanned. "My children show up out of the clear blue and they try to take me over again."  
  
"We succeeded." She corrected quickly.  
  
Vince ignored her. "What makes you think you can get away with this again? That was not meant to be answered." He continued when she opened her mouth to speak. "I brought you here because I'm willing to make a deal with you."  
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that's going to happen anytime soon."  
  
They both looked up as somebody started pounding on the door.  
  
"Come in!" Vince called, keeping a close eye on his daughter. "Austin, what a surprise to see you here."  
  
"Cut the talking Vince." Austin snapped, giving him a knowing look. "Hey, why don't I do you a favor and take the princess off your hands."  
  
Vince caught his almost sadistic look and smirked. "Be my guest."  
  
Austin yanked her up by the arm and Stephanie protested loudly as she was pushed out of the room.  
  
"Where the hell do you think you're taking me?" She demanded, shaking her arm free. They kept walking and she scowled. "I think I'd rather be with my dad right now." She nearly bumped into him as he came to an abrupt stop. "What are you doing?" She looked up and saw that it was her office.  
  
"Well are you going in or are you going to stand out here gaping like it's gonna start singing?" Austin asked, an emotionless look on his face.  
  
Stephanie glanced at him cautiously and walked backwards to the door. Her hand found the knob and she pushed the door open. Austin gave her a quick nod and she stumbled into the room, shutting the door behind her.  
  
"Where were you?" A voice demanded.  
  
She whirled around and saw John Cena and Randy Orton sitting on the couch, relieved looks on both of their faces. "I have no idea what the hell just happened." She breathed out, easing herself down into the recliner.  
  
"Was that Austin?" John asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah." Stephanie nodded. "I think he just saved me from my father."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"So I think it was pretty productive tonight." Shane commented in the limo afterwards.  
  
Stephanie shot him an irritated look before turning to look out the window. "Yeah, especially when I was kidnapped."  
  
"Hey I was knocked unconscious." Shane shot back.  
  
"Whatever." She muttered, keeping her eyes glued to the buildings passing them by.  
  
The car pulled to a stop in front of the hotel and Stephanie didn't say a word as she brushed by Shane, grabbing her bags on the way.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow morning." She called over her shoulder while waiting for the bellhop. "We need to go over the plans for Raw. I have them all set but you don't know about them yet." She greeted the guy with a pleasant smile as he grabbed her luggage and she followed him into the elevator without another word to Shane.  
  
"You get used to the mood swings." Test commented, dragging his suitcases behind him. "She'll be fine by tomorrow morning. I think the whole Vince/Austin thing freaked her out."  
  
Shane nodded. "Yeah I know. I should probably go up and apologize for getting knocked unconscious." He said sarcastically and Test laughed.  
  
"Good luck."  
  
"Thanks." Shane looked up the room she was staying in and got into the elevator. He waited impatiently and when the doors opened he sprinted out, nearly knocking over the cleaning lady. "Sorry." He said briefly. He found her room and knocked on the door.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Stephanie got into her room and tossed her suitcases onto the free bed, an exaggerated sigh of relief slipping past her lips. She quickly got changed into her flannel pajamas and threw her hair up before throwing herself on the other bed. Pulling the covers over her, she picked up the book she'd started and read in peaceful silence until a pounding was heard on her door. She looked up in alarm. "Who's there?" She called meekly, thinking that she had told them to keep her room a secret.  
  
There was no answer and she saw the door slowly being pushed open and flung the covers over her head. "Hello?" She asked quietly, hearing somebody as they began to laugh. She slowly lowered the blanket and saw her brother holding onto the doorframe for support. "Jackass." She muttered. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I just wanted to apologize." Shane said simply. "I tried my best to keep that from happening and honestly, I thought we did really well tonight."  
  
Stephanie grinned and shook her brother's outstretched hand. "We did. And tomorrow is a brand new day." 


	16. First Show Not As Planned?

Disclaimer: we own nothing! Sorry, lol  
  
  
  
"Come in Shane, it's open" Steph called from the en-suite bathroom.  
  
Cautiously Shane stuck his head around the door before the rest of his body followed and he inched into the room tentatively. He hoped Steph was in a better mood, you'd have thought after all these years he would have learned how to recognize and handle his sister's mood swings, heck even Test who'd been engaged to her had learnt that but for some reason Shane hadn't. He shook his head ruefully; it was probably because Steph was always surprising him with her moods, he was just never prepared for the sudden swings. He sat down on a chair and flipped open his organizer. Tonight was their first Raw, as co-owners and he wanted everything to be smooth and oiled. He didn't know what Steph had planned but he'd made a few plans himself just in case but if he knew Steph, which he did (an unfortunate thing he often thought) all his carefully laid plans would go out the window. She always had a knack for changing things without noticing she'd done anything. She was a ball of frantic energy, always looking for the next task to move onto or the next person to destroy. That was his sister.  
  
As if she'd heard his thoughts, the door to the en-suite opened and Steph swept out, looking immaculate in a sharp black pants suit and black shirt. She nodded briskly at Shane and walked over to the table where her bag and a file of papers were stacked.  
  
"Are the others ready for tonight?" she asked, pulling on her shoes  
  
"As far as I know" replied Shane, tapping a couple of buttons on his organizer  
  
"Meeting before?"  
  
"Yep, in our office"  
  
"If Daddy lets us have one"  
  
"Our show Steph, our rules"  
  
"True"  
  
There was a pause and Shane realized that Steph was looking at him expectantly, all her things gathered up into her arms and a long black coat around her shoulders. She was ready to leave and was waiting for him. Shane got to his feet, snapping his organizer shut and walked to the door, opening it for Steph to exit first. She absently handed him the room key so that he could lock up after her. He rolled his eyes, she really had got into her role as co-owner, and only she seemed to have forgotten that he was the other co-owner. He'd have to remind her once they got to the car.  
  
*  
  
Steph was in the driver's seat of their rental when he got there, carefully checking her reflection in the rearview mirror. He shook his head in amusement at the sight of his sister scrutinizing what she saw. Loudly he opened his door to signal his arrival, it didn't stop her.  
  
"Do I look ok Shane?" she asked finally  
  
Shane shifted in his seat so that he was facing her and took a long look. As far as he could tell, she looked fine, but was that the answer she wanted? He could never tell with Stephanie. He gave her an approving smile  
  
"You look great Steph, a real business woman" he assured her  
  
"Not too much like a McMahon?"  
  
"Steph you are a McMahon"  
  
"I know that Shane-O and damn proud of it but sometimes there's connotations with the name"  
  
"When you start thinking that, you start forgetting the McMahon way" Shane imitated his father's voice perfectly  
  
Steph laughed ruefully and nodded.  
  
"In the end, all we have is each other" she added softly "that's what Daddy says as well"  
  
"That time, he'd be right" said Shane "coz no matter how much we piss each other off."  
  
"We're the only ones left in the end" finished Steph "I know, what a family"  
  
"Not our choice" Shane reminded her "c'mon lets get to the arena so we can set everything up"  
  
"OK Shane-O and I can let you in on my brilliant plans for Raw" said Steph cheerfully as she reversed the car  
  
"I shake in anticipation," replied Shane dryly  
  
She glared at him narrow-eyed as they slid out into a lane. He shrugged at her, smiling. In truth, he wanted to hear her plans, as long as she heard his as well. There was a first time for everything.  
  
*  
  
"Hey guys, Steph! They found you huh? Feeling good?" asked Christian as the Un-Americans approached the McMahon duo backstage  
  
"Feeling good" confirmed Steph "Daddy can try taking me but we're still the owners, no amount of sulking can change that"  
  
"Glad to hear it" spoke up Lance "is there a meeting before Raw?"  
  
"There will be say an hour beforehand" replied Shane "In fact, what are you guys doing here this early?"  
  
"Came to scope out the territory" put in Test "we haven't wrestled here in a long time so thought we'd check where everything is before we go enjoy the city, if it's possible to enjoy an American city"  
  
Shane tried not to laugh at the look of disgust on all three Un-American's faces. Steph nodded seriously.  
  
"See you guys later" she replied, dismissing them with a brief hand gesture as she walked past them  
  
"Later guys" added Shane as he hurried after his sister  
  
*  
  
"Where the hell is our office?" demanded Steph, her voice getting dangerously loud as she stormed through the corridors, a look of thunder and impatience on her face  
  
"Just here" motioned Shane around a corner, which he'd looked behind  
  
Steph swept past him, not even thanking him causing him to roll his eyes again. Sure enough one of the doors was tacked with a sign that said THE MCMAHONS CO-OWNERS in thick black lettering. She turned to Shane with a sudden dazzling smile  
  
"Here we are big brother" she said happily "it's all ours for the taking"  
  
"Not if we don't start planning Raw it won't be, it being our flagship show and all," said Shane mockingly with a smile  
  
"Alright, point taken, lets go" Steph said briskly opening the door and walking in, Shane close behind.  
  
He shut the door behind him and nearly bumped into Stephanie as she stopped abruptly. "What's wrong?" He whispered.  
  
She didn't say anything and instead pointed to the person who was unsuccessfully trying to hide behind the opened closet door. Shane furrowed his brows and she nudged him in the direction of the intruder.  
  
"I wonder who the hell this could be." He asked aloud, a mocking tone to his voice. He pushed the door closed to reveal a startled looking Kurt Angle.  
  
"Hey guys." He said weakly before Shane grasped him by the shoulders and pushed him down into the chair. He looked over to the door but found that was being blocked, Stephanie leaning against it casually with her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"What can we do for you Kurt?" She asked calmly, leaving her post.  
  
Shane pulled back and sat down behind the desk, propping his feet on the table. Steph was good at the intimidation thing; she could handle this.  
  
"Just wanted to see how you two were doing." He attempted, stealing glances between the two McMahons.  
  
Stephanie smirked and walked behind Kurt, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Now we all know that's a bunch of bullshit Kurt."  
  
He swallowed nervously-was he that transparent? "No Steph." He said, clearing his throat. "That's the complete truth."  
  
"Is it now?" She asked, her voice dropping. "So then I guess you wouldn't mind if I took a look at this." She added pulling a folded up piece of paper form his coat pocket.  
  
"I was just doing a food run."  
  
"Yeah right." Shane scoffed and Stephanie glared at him with a look that clearly read: 'shut up now'.  
  
Stephanie didn't say anything and instead slowly unfolded the lined notebook paper. "Office number B-23." She read aloud. "Computer number 15F6. Password." She trailed off and glared at the gold medallist. "How the hell did you get our password and who is it for?"  
  
Kurt didn't respond and he looked up uneasily at her darkened expression.  
  
"Kurt." Stephanie started, her patience starting to wear thin. "It is registering that we have complete control, right?"  
  
"Hunter."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"He was the one I got the password for." Kurt clarified.  
  
Stephanie turned to Shane, who shrugged, and then back to Kurt. "Does he have anything planned with my dad?"  
  
Kurt scoffed. "Yeah right. Your dad has nothing to do with what Hunter has planned. Can I leave now?"  
  
"You think we're that stupid?" Stephanie asked at the same time Shane replied with a "Sure." She punched in some numbers on her cell phone while shaking her head. "Hey guys." She started. "You can come in now, we're ready for you."  
  
About five minutes of complete silence later, there was a sharp knock on the door.  
  
"Go get it." She said dismissively to Shane. She was oblivious to the look he was giving her and sat back while filing her nails. He opened the door and pretty soon their whole team, minus the Undertaker, were packed into the room.  
  
Christian stood up once they were all quiet and grinned. "Guys, we have our dear Stephanie back." He said with a flourish and she rolled her eyes as everyone expressed their gratitude that she was back.  
  
Kurt sat silently between Batista and RVD, casting nervous glances in their direction.  
  
Shane quickly went over their plans for that evening and dismissed their team as quickly as they came in, making sure that Kurt stayed seated where he was.  
  
"I think you need to stay here for a while." Stephanie said, a threatening tone to her voice and Kurt was quick to oblige, sinking down lower into the chair.  
  
At precisely nine o' clock Stephanie reached over and flipped on the TV as RAW's entrance began to play. Things were going to plan when all of a sudden, about two matches in, Hunter showed up at the top of the ramp and stalked down to the ring.  
  
"This should be good." Stephanie said with a smirk.  
  
"Where the hell is he Steph?" Hunter demanded, his face a mask of fury. Of course there was no reply so he kept on. "We know you captured him or something so just give him back and things will be fine."  
  
"Too good of an opportunity to pass up." She muttered, grabbing a microphone. She ignored Shane's protests and walked briskly to the backstage entrance. She didn't bother with her music and strode out leisurely, an innocent smile on her face. "What are you talking about Hunter?" She asked sweetly.  
  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." He snapped, leaning on the ropes.  
  
She tapped her chin until it dawned upon her. "Oh, do you mean Kurt Angle, the Olympic gold medallist?"  
  
Hunter nodded and rolled his eyes at the fans reaction.  
  
"Yeah, we don't have him anymore."  
  
"What are you talking about, anymore?"  
  
Stephanie put one hand on her hip. "Well you see Hunter, Shane and I caught him snooping in our office, trying to get passwords and papers and stuff. He also happened to say that you were the one he was getting them for so that got me a little pissed off. I mean, here I was, just trying to take over the company, and you're sending out spies to keep track of me, us." She corrected herself quickly. "So I couldn't have very well let him go now that he knows all of this stuff. But don't worry, he's in good hands." She signaled to one of the video technicians and some video footage came up.  
  
It was of Kurt. Well actually, Kurt was being tied to the back of Austin's truck with a gag over his mouth.  
  
Hunter dropped the microphone and sped down the ramp, brushing straight by Stephanie as she laughed, brushing her hands together in victory 


	17. Watch Your Back

Disclaimer: don't own anything, sorry!  
  
"Steph where exactly is Angle going?" Shane asked as his sister joined him backstage, handing the microphone to a crew member on the way  
  
"Oh I don't know, just a few miles out from the arena" she replied vaguely "far enough to piss off Hunter but near enough to return Angle to his hotel later on"  
  
"And how did you persuade Austin to lend him his truck since you blew him off last time you spoke to him?" persisted Shane, wanting to find out what had happened, he hated not knowing  
  
"I didn't" she said simply "John and Randy broke into his car, something they're surprisingly good at"  
  
"Are you telling me that Stone Cold has no idea that his truck is being used?!" exploded Shane, stopping dead in his tracks  
  
"Borrowed, Shane borrowed, we're giving it back when Angle's been dumped somewhere"  
  
"Oh hell" Shane swore loudly, his hands to his head, thinking about the consequences of an angry Rattlesnake finding out it was Stephanie who ordered his truck to be used without his permission  
  
"You called?" a voice said dryly  
  
Both the McMahons jumped at the voice and turned to see Undertaker looming over them. Steph's expression hurriedly changed from surprised and scared to hard frown, hands to her hips while Shane looked purely relieved that it wasn't Austin.  
  
"I just saw Hunter head out in his car after the truck with Edge" Taker said "he ain't the only one out in the car park"  
  
"What do you mean?" Shane asked shakily, his nervousness surfacing again  
  
"Come on boy, use the brains you got in there somewhere!" exclaimed Taker "I know you took Austin's truck without permission and I know he's pissed off about it, he's out there trying to find out who's idea it was since he didn't catch Steph and Hunter's verbal sparring, I think it's time for you make yourselves scarce if you get my meanin'"  
  
"No way are we hiding" Steph cut in before Shane could speak "if Austin has a problem, he can come straight here to us, we're the bosses not him"  
  
Taker stared at her for a while, his pale eyes holding her gaze. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Shane looked from one to the other and sighed, Steph was taking this 'we're not having another Austin' thing way too seriously. Before anyone could speak, another voice came down the corridor  
  
"Alright, I know one of you no-good Mcmahons had something to do with my truck damn near screeching out of that car park so you'd better tell me where the hell it's gone" Austin stomped over to them  
  
Undertaker neatly turned to that he was in front of the Mcmahons, shielding them. He looked distinctly unafraid of the furious man in front of him  
  
"Hey Austin, can we help you in anyway?" he asked languidly  
  
"Get out of my way Taker, this ain't got nothing to do with you" spat Austin  
  
"It ain't got nothing to do with you either" replied Taker "all I know is that Angle was snooping in their office and he got paid back for it, now your truck just happened to be used, it'll be returned to you without a scratch tonight, I can promise you that"  
  
"It had better or someone is gonna get their ass whipped!" Austin yelled up into Taker's face  
  
"Well it ain't gonna be me" replied Taker quietly, continuing to stare at Austin  
  
Austin stared back then slowly backed away, pausing to stare over Undertaker's shoulder to the Steph and Shane, pointing at them.  
  
"Not a scratch" he repeated, before turning and walking away  
  
Undertaker turned back to the Mcmahons  
  
"Now as I was saying, you'd better get hiding, not from Hunter or Austin but from the other talent, the ones who aren't on either side, they're gonna manipulate it anyway they can, Hunter can hustle up a ton of errand boys to do his work easily, Angle didn't get your password but someone else could"  
  
"Thank you Taker" said Shane solemnly, shaking Taker's leather gloved hand  
  
"Hey, you're the boss, though why I wasn't invited to your meeting earlier can be discussed later" Undertaker replied, turning his head to stare at Stephanie again  
  
Steph nodded, offering her own hand which Taker took with a raise of his eyebrows before shaking it  
  
"Now I got someone in ring business to take care of but I'm just telling you, there's gonna be people like Austin around every corner looking to take you out and I won't be there to help" he said as he walked away  
  
"Can you believe that Shane? Telling us what to do?" exploded Steph when Taker was safely out of earshot  
  
"No, what I can't believe is you trying to pick a fight with one of our own men" replied Shane, equally annoyed "he just saved our asses and you're complaining? Sometimes Steph you are on your own and he's right, there are gonna be people looking to pop us so I say we get a guard going by our office"  
  
"Fine, a guard" shot back Steph "some of our men and some of security, air tight, especially if Hunter comes looking for trouble"  
  
"Which no doubt he will" Shane sighed "look, there's a match starting in the ring, lets go back to the office and watch Raw from there, then any hiccups or any of our group that need help we can be at the centre of it all to call people up or smooth out the wrinkles"  
  
Stephanie looked at her brother, this time he wasn't going to back down. She inwardly squashed an urge to fight with him about Undertaker; he had helped them after all she remembered grudgingly  
  
"You win" she said, suddenly taking off down the corridor "but don't get used to it"  
  
"Sure Steph" Shane chuckled, following her "anything you say"  
  
*  
  
"Did you see what way the truck went?" Edge asked, peering over at Hunter who was behind the wheel. Then he continued before giving him a chance to respond. "Man, that was genius on her part though." He complimented. "Kidnapping Kurt like that."  
  
Hunter braked at a red light and turned to him with eyebrows raised. "How was that genius? They stole Austin's truck without his permission, I know that for a fact, and now he's pissed off at them because they turned him down."  
  
"Turned me down too." Edge huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Something I don't understand at all."  
  
"There it is!" Hunter exclaimed, slamming on the gas so Edge had to fling his arms out to prevent from hitting the airbag. He turned the engine off and hurried out of the car when he caught sight of the truck parked in the lot of some deserted building. Walking over slowly he noticed Kurt was out cold and cut the rope that was holding his arms and legs together. "Come on Kurt." He said gruffly, smacking him on the shoulder.  
  
Edge stifled a laugh at Kurt's haphazard appearance and helped drag him up when Hunter motioned him over.  
  
Kurt's head was down so his chin was hitting his chest and gained about twenty extra pounds of dead weight. The two managed to situate him in the back seat of the rental car and got back in quietly.  
  
Two figures quietly emerged from the shadows, watching the car being driven away.  
  
"This is so much fun." John Cena exclaimed, pulling open the door to the truck.  
  
Randy Orton nodded. "Yeah, it definitely is." He narrowed his eyebrows when he noticed John getting into the driver's seat. "Why do you get to drive? You drove on the way here."  
  
"Because I'm the one who hot-wired the truck." John answered simply. "Without me you'd still be in the parking lot trying to figure out how to unlock the door."  
  
"That's a load of crap!" Randy exclaimed and got into the passenger's seat unwillingly. His hand immediately reached over to start flipping through the radio stations when John hit his hand away.  
  
"You think Austin is gonna appreciate us messing around with his radio? I really don't think he will."  
  
"I don't care what you think." Randy retorted. "I'm not listening to this crap he has programmed and what are you so worried about? I'll change them back."  
  
John sighed heavily and turned to face his partner in crime. "You don't get what being in this business means, do you?" He peered over at him, waiting for a response from the third-generation superstar.  
  
"Of course I know what it-slam on your brakes!" He exclaimed as he noticed the car in front of them come to an abrupt stop. The truck made contact with SUV in front of them and they were both jarred forward as the car behind theirs hit them in the rear. The two rookies looked at each other in open-mouthed astonishment.  
  
"We are in such deep shit." John breathed out, unbuckling his seatbelt to get out and assess the damage.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Stephanie McMahon sat back in the cushioned chair and propped her feet up on the stool, enjoying the fact she had some time to rest after nearly two months of frantic planning and running around. Everything was going smoothly, absolutely no kinks in their plan, and they had their father beginning them to reconsider their actions. I don't think so; she said to her self silently, a relaxed smirk on her face.  
  
"Miss McMahon, you have a call." The suited man said, walking into the dimly lit room filled with candles and spa products.  
  
She pulled her hand away from the manicurist sitting at her side and examined the work so far before placing the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She answered lazily.  
  
"We have a problem." Came John Cena's static reply.  
  
"No we don't." Stephanie replied easily. "Everything is going like clockwork."  
  
"Everything was going like clockwork." He corrected and Stephanie narrowed her eyes.  
  
"What do you mean, was?" She asked, the hard edge returning to her voice at the notion everything wasn't going as planned. "Tell me what the hell you're talking about Cena."  
  
"Well we dropped Kurt off like planned." He rushed out, a stammer in his voice. "And we, well actually I, was driving Austin's truck back to the arena for him to have it back when-"  
  
"Please tell me you're not trying to tell me what I think you are." Stephanie half-pleaded, starting to get light-headed.  
  
"We hit this car in the back and then got rear-ended ourselves." He said, confirming every single one of Stephanie's fears. "But don't worry, we're fine."  
  
"Do you think I care about you guys being fine?" Stephanie exploded. "You just ruined Austin's baby, his prized possession. Shane and I are going to get it because you two are morons!" She held onto the doorframe to steady her and took a few, deep calming breaths before talking to him again. "How bad is it?"  
  
"Well the front is smashed up pretty badly." John started. "And in the back it's just a few scrapes."  
  
Stephanie grabbed her coat from the outstretched hand and shrugged it on, stalking out to her car. "Where are you guys right now?"  
  
John gave her their location and after promising she'd be there in ten minutes they both hung up."  
  
*~*~*  
  
"How did she sound?" Randy asked John, leaning back against the light post as people and police officers milled around the scene of the accident.  
  
John winced. "She was really pissed." They both looked up as a car screeched to a stop in front of them and shrank back as they saw their bosses step out of the car.  
  
"What the hell." Shane muttered, putting his hand to his forehead as he surveyed the damage.  
  
"Sir, is this your car?" A police officer asked the eldest McMahon sibling.  
  
"No, we were borrowing it from a friend." Shane replied, pulling out his checkbook as he approached the car that had been hit. He motioned for the driver to roll his or her window down. "How much did you want for.." He trailed off and his eyes got wide as he saw the person in the front seat.  
  
"Have a little accident with Austin's car did we?" Triple H asked patronizingly, revelling in the fact that both of the siblings looked like they just saw a ghost. 


	18. Back On Top

Disclaimer: we own nothing, once again  
  
As Shane gaped and tried to speak, Steph slapped Hunter hard across the face and stood glaring at him, arms crossed. It was Hunter's turn to look stunned now as he held his sore cheek. Edge meanwhile, tried hard not to laugh, settling instead to turn in his seat to check on Kurt who still lay out-cold on the backseat.  
  
"You bitch!" Hunter growled recovered from his shock "I don't have to waste my time on you, Austin's gonna tear you both limb from limb without me having to lift a finger"  
  
"We'll see Mr my-car's-wrecked-with-nowhere-to-go" sneered Stephanie  
  
Shane put away his cheque book with a smug smile. He bent down so that Hunter could see directly into his cold grey eyes, deciding to enjoy this  
  
"You can try all you want to upend us" Shane said quietly "but me and Steph have won and you know it, you just can't handle the truth that we're your bosses now"  
  
Shane quickly took some steps back when he saw the rage boil up in Hunter's eyes. Edge quickly grabbed Hunter's arm, frantically getting his attention  
  
"Its what he wants Hunter, he wants you to get mad and start attacking him so that he can get you arrested for assault or something" Edge warned  
  
"I know that" grumbled Hunter, shaking off Edge's hand "I just wanna beat his ass all the way back to the arena"  
  
"We all want to do that"  
  
Shane had turned his attention to the police officers now who were clearly waiting for an explanation. He sighed and offered a silent prayer before beginning to speak, hoping it would work. He knew he looked the part in a steel grey shirt and black suit.  
  
"Officer, what details will you need exactly?"  
  
"Details son?" asked the officer  
  
"Yes you know, insurance company and all that so we can fix this since he won't be suing"  
  
"And why are you so sure of that?"  
  
"Because I'm his boss" replied Shane with a smile "he works for me, as do the two men who drove into him, this is a company matter"  
  
The officer looked amazed and quickly walked over to the car window where Hunter was steaming quietly inside.  
  
"Is this true Mr Helmsley? Do you work for this man?"  
  
"It says so on paper" muttered Hunter  
  
"I'm afraid you people will have to sort this out between yourselves before any legal action can be taken" the officer said firmly  
  
The officer walked back to Shane  
  
"I'll call the break-down crew to come tow these two vehicles away, where would you like them delivered?" he asked  
  
"Back to the Arena in town" replied Shane with a wave of his hand  
  
The officer nodded and walked to his group of officers to start giving instructions. Shane smiled; glad he'd inherited his dad's gift of persuasion. He looked for Steph and rolled his eyes when he saw where she was; storming over to where John and Randy were sat. She was going to chew them out big time.  
  
"I'd better go make sure she doesn't maim anyone" Shane muttered, following her slowly  
  
Steph stood in front of the two wrestlers, arms crossed and foot tapping. She knew she looked formidable all in black with perfect emphasising make- up. She raised an eyebrow expectantly  
  
"I'm waiting" her voice was ice-cold unimpressed  
  
"Ummm, we made a little mistake?" tried John weakly  
  
"Damn right you did" she replied  
  
"We can pay...." began Randy  
  
"For the repairs to Austin's truck?!" cut in Steph venomously "you couldn't if you tried, he puts a lot of money into making that truck look perfect and you two go crash it?? Its gonna take both me and Shane to persuade Austin not to lynch you two"  
  
Both John and Randy gulped at her words, the prospect of a furious Austin on their tails not an attractive one. Steph nodded satisfied, pulling away at the scared looks on their faces. She turned and almost bumped into Shane who was stood with a hard look on his face directed at John and Randy.  
  
"I'm impressed Steph" he said slowly "you didn't lose your cool with them and they're still terrified"  
  
"I've been practicing"  
  
"On which pathetic soul?"  
  
"You naturally"  
  
"You wish Steph, I spend most of my days trying to stop you from killing someone"  
  
Steph rolled her eyes and indicated the car which still contained Hunter and Edge, both staring holes into the Mcmahons  
  
"What are we doing with Dumb and Dumber?" she asked  
  
"Leaving them for the breakdown crew to pick up" answered Shane "we can head back to the hotel and sort this whole mess out tomorrow, we can get some advice from the lawyers and maybe Taker as well, I don't want any arguments about that either Steph"  
  
"Sure sir, whatever you say"  
  
"Cute, anyway Raw's nearly done now so we can go get some sleep; we have got a lot thinking to do in the morning before Austin discovers who wrecked his truck"  
  
Steph couldn't help an involuntary shiver course through her at her brother's words. She remembered Austin's legendary rage causing outbreaks of chair attacks, beating on innocent people like Michael Cole and cold hard anger. She did not want to be on the end of that. Shane opened the car using his key-ring sensor and motioned for her to get in. She nodded and beckoned to John and Randy to get into the backseat. They complied eagerly and silently. Everyone wanted to get some sleep before facing Austin.  
  
*  
  
Stephanie stood outside the door to her brother's hotel room and knocked on it impatiently for the third time, waiting for some response. After a few minutes she was about to knock again when their two rookies walked down the hall and headed to the elevators. She took in their shook up and tired appearances and left her position at Shane's door and walked over to them.  
  
"How are you guys doing?" She asked gently as they turned around slowly. "Did you guys get any sleep at all last night?"  
  
Randy shook his head and shoved his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt. "Too worried about facing Austin to tell you the truth."  
  
"You guys know we won't let Austin do anything to you, right?" Steph asked, curious to hear their answers and was surprised when John shrugged. She shook her head and smiled. "We wouldn't let you guys face him alone. Shane and I were going to our lawyer this morning to see what we should do; you guys are more then welcome to come along."  
  
"It's alright." John answered for the both of them. "We were going to go get some training done and we would probably just get in the way."  
  
"Yeah." Randy agreed. "We'll see you guys later though and good luck with the lawyers."  
  
Stephanie spun around and saw her brother standing behind her with a relaxed smile on his face.  
  
"What do you look so confident about?" She asked, pulling her bag over her shoulder as they began walking.  
  
"I'm really not confident about anything." He said honestly. "I was just wondering about how you just treated John and Randy."  
  
She immediately got an indignant look on her face. "What are you talking about?" She demanded, stopping in her tracks. "I was nice to them, I was worrying about them, I was-"  
  
"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Shane replied, walking away from her and he grinned when he heard her running to catch up to him.  
  
"You're so mature." Stephanie responded, rolling her eyes as she got into the waiting limo first. She tossed her bags on the seat opposite of her and propped her legs up, watching as Shane climbed in. "We need to go to the main headquarters." She told the driver quickly before turning her attention back to her brother. "Okay, so what's going to go on at the lawyer's office now, did you get all the files we'd need?"  
  
Shane held up a briefcase and nodded, silently reveling in the fact that it was Stephanie who was nervous for the first time, and not him. He was about to offer her a comforting word or two when his cell phone rang and she jumped at the unexpected sound.  
  
"Hello?" Shane answered; trying to suppress a laugh as his sister tried to regain her composure. He listened for a few minutes and then put his hand over the receiver. "It's Taker." He mouthed silently and Stephanie narrowed her eyes.  
  
"What does he want?" She said under her breath, trying her hardest to sound professional, lest she be heard by the Deadman.  
  
Shane held up one finger and listened intently to the other person, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I guess that would be okay. Do you want to talk to-no? Alright, we'll see you back at the arena by 3:30. Bye." He snapped the phone shut and turned to Stephanie. "I got some bad news."  
  
"What happened?" She demanded.  
  
"Hunter got to Austin first; he told him everything before we had a chance to even explain anything."  
  
Stephanie put one hand to her forehead and allowed her eyes to blink slowly while the information sunk in. "Do you know if he's mad or anything?" She asked.  
  
"No, he's perfectly dandy with the fact we stole his baby and then ruined it beyond recognition." Shane said sarcastically.  
  
"It was not ruined beyond recognition." Stephanie replied heatedly, glaring at him. "There were a few scratches and dents, it's nothing a good garage can't fix and don't you dare get an attitude with me now because I am so not in the mood to deal with you."  
  
"Do you think I want to sit here listening to you're pathetic whining and bitching about how nothing is going your way?" Shane snapped. "I don't. And while we're on the subject Steph, news flash, the world does not revolve around you. You are not in control of everything, regardless to what you think; we're in this fifty-fifty. That means half of all of this" He waved his arms around emphatically. "Belongs to me."  
  
Stephanie stared at him silently and was deciding the best way to respond to his outburst when the limo jerked to a stop. She stepped out and slammed the door shut behind her and walked purposefully to the front entrance, not caring that she was leaving Shane behind.  
  
"Good day Miss McMahon." The doorman said pleasantly, holding open the door for her.  
  
She pursed her lips and nodded curtly in his direction before walking by. "Hurry up." She called over her shoulder towards Shane. There was faint muttering heard behind her and she rolled her eyes.  
  
"You two are late."  
  
Stephanie jumped and turned around slowly at the sound of the Texas-tinged voice. She faced Austin and gave him a fakely sweet smile and reached behind her to make sure that Shane was there. "We're not late Steve. It's 9 o' clock, just like we agreed on."  
  
Austin held up his watch and examined it. "My watch says 9:02. You're late."  
  
"It's just two minutes." Shane tried.  
  
"You're right." Austin replied and then turned away from them and started walking down the hall.  
  
Shane stood there open-mouthed, ready to respond back to whatever Austin was going to shoot back at them, and was surprised when he merely agreed.  
  
"Don't just stand there." Stephanie muttered, nudging him along with the corner of her purse. They walked down the hall and turned into the room they saw Austin enter and she quickly took the seat next to their team of lawyers, who sat across from Austin and his one.  
  
"So I've been told you two can't seem to leave my client alone, is that correct?"  
  
"We can't leave him alone?" Stephanie asked incredulously, and then followed that with a seemingly forced laugh. "He's the one that's obsessed with interfering in our plans."  
  
"And those would be what?" His lawyer pressed on curiously.  
  
"Those would be none of your business." Their head lawyer answered quickly. "And it is also not the point of this meeting. So if we could kindly get along with what the point is." He trailed off pointedly.  
  
"Your clients, Vince and Linda's only children, saw it fitting to break into Mr. Austin's car, drive a kidnapped individual to a specific point and then try to bring it back, only to find themselves in quite the predicament when they found themselves in the middle of a five car pile-up. We only have a few demands that they are to agree to."  
  
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at the last statement but chose to remain silent when she saw the look Shane was giving her.  
  
"What demands?" Their lawyer asked for them both.  
  
"I want my car paid for." Austin started. "And I feel it appropriate they reimburse Kurt Angle for his brief hospital visit because of the pain they inflicted on him."  
  
"Sounds like he just found out what the dictionary was." Shane muttered under his breath, referring to his sudden usage of the very un-Austin like words.  
  
"Or else his lawyer prepared it." Stephanie added quietly, clenching her fingers around the table when she heard him suggest they pay for the damage to the other cars involved. "That's ridiculous." She protested and was immediately silenced by her lawyer.  
  
"And there's one last thing." Austin continued on as if he didn't hear Stephanie's outburst. "I want a general manager position on the show of my choosing with the power to appoint the GM for the other show."  
  
Shane jumped out of his chair, slamming his hands against the hardwood table. "Absolutely not!"  
  
"Then we can take this to an actual court and let's just say that wouldn't be good publicity for the two of you Mr. McMahon, considering the fact it was the two of you who decided to steal the car in the first place." Austin's lawyer said evenly as he started slipping pieces of paper back into the manila folders from which they came.  
  
"We don't have any other choice." Their own lawyer said to them quietly. "Unless you want to take this to the public. And if we do that, he's right; it wouldn't look good for you two or the company."  
  
Stephanie sat back and an idea was already forming in the back of her mind. "If we were to assign him the title of General Manager, couldn't it be just that, a title that means they have no more power then the title of Undisputed Champion? And then it would mean they'd have to follow the script like everyone else, right?"  
  
"I suppose that could work."  
  
Shane grinned and nodded at his sister's ingenious thinking. "Way to go." He mouthed at her as they turned back to face an expectant looking Austin and his lawyer. Stephanie merely smiled.  
  
"My clients, Shane and Stephanie McMahon, have decided to your terms Mr. Austin."  
  
They all signed the appropriate sheets of paper and were out of there ten minutes later.  
  
Stephanie pushed past the heavy glass doors and had to refrain from dancing or start laughing uncontrollably at how easy that all had been.  
  
"I have to tell you, I was a little worried when Austin gave us that last stipulation." Shane confessed after dragging Stephanie back into the car. "Thankfully you have that quick thinking head on your shoulders and Austin never reads the fine print for anything."  
  
"You're absolutely right my dear brother." She replied breezily, and then tapped on the dividing window with one perfectly manicured fingernail. "Take us back to the arena please. We have a Smackdown taping to run." 


	19. Recruitment

Disclaimer: own nothing. This is a Shadow and Fallen Angel joint effort so blame both of us!!  
  
RECRUITMENT  
  
"Home sweet home" Stephanie announced as she emerged from the limo  
  
"Funny, I though you McMahons would find somewhere more classy than an arena to call home" a sardonic voice announced clearly from behind her  
  
Steph spun on her expensive Italian leather heel to verbally toast the speaker when she saw who it was. She was expecting Jericho or Hunter. Instead, Undertaker stood leaning against the arena's back door; spitting tobacco juice into a small glass tumbler in his hand. Stephanie curled her glossy lips into a disgusted expression. He couldn't find somewhere, like the privacy of his own dressing room, to do that in? It was vulgar and utterly gross. Knowing he'd want her to react in some prissy way, Stephanie mentally pulled herself together and straightened her back.  
  
"It's a figure of speech" she ground out through gritted teeth as he spat again  
  
"Evening Taker" Shane called  
  
He'd emerged from the other side of the limo shortly after Stephanie and had watched her mental and facial gymnastics. It always amused him how he could tell exactly what his sister was thinking simply by taking in her body language. Call it a brother's gift. He briskly walked up to the mammoth frame of one of their top superstars, willing himself not to show he was intimidated. He knew from experience that Taker respected people who respected him and stood up for themselves. He hoped he was showing both in equal measure as he stood in front of Taker with his briefcase  
  
"How'd the meeting go?" asked Taker, spitting a particularly large gob of juice into the glass  
  
Shane tried hard not to laugh as Stephanie turned away slightly, her disgust etched vividly on her face. Hurriedly he turned his eyes back to Taker before the big man noticed as well.  
  
"Well, Austin put out some demands" he began  
  
"Which were totally unfair and putting everything in his favour" Stephanie interrupted furiously "we have to pay for his truck repairs and for Kurt's medical bills! Since when did Austin care about Kurt's health? Since he could get money out of us!"  
  
Shane sighed and turned to his sister  
  
"Remember what I was saying on the ride over? 50/50, remember that" he said warningly before turning back again to Taker who was patiently taking in the conversation "and we've had to name him General Manager and he's allowed to name the other show's General Manager but luckily since we're the owners, we can map out his responsibilities, power and control"  
  
"Which will amount to zilch" Stephanie added proudly  
  
"Good to see someone's been using their brains" Taker smirked "the reason I came out to greet you is to make sure you get around safely, Hunter and his little gang aren't gonna be shy about approaching you, especially since they think they got the upper hand here"  
  
"So you thought you'd be our bodyguard?" sneered Stephanie "thanks but no thanks"  
  
Undertaker looked at her long and hard, she stared defiantly back. He walked slowly up to her, held his glass out in front of him so that it was almost touching her expensive silk blouse and spat in it suddenly. Stephanie jerked visibly, almost jumping backwards before glaring at him in disgust.  
  
"I called in the UnAmericans" Taker said to Shane who was trying his hardest (and not very well) to hide his delighted laughter  
  
As if on cue, Lance, Test and Christian walked out of the backdoor. They were all dressed in comfortably pants and black tees with the upside down American flag on. They all looked determined  
  
"Ready to escort you inside" announced Lance cordially  
  
"Thank you Lance" said Stephanie as she breezed past him "nice to know someone around here has some class"  
  
Taker rolled his eyes at Shane who shrugged back. He was used to his sister's unsubtle barbs by now. It was part of life. He'd have to talk to her about scaring superstars and making unwanted enemies out of people who weren't as unshockable as Undertaker. Stephanie inspected her nails in a bored manner. She mentally congratulated herself on managing to book her manicurist on such short notice. Cecile had done her usual perfect job in reflecting Stephanie's mood; the nails were deep red. They matched the silk blouse that was unbuttoned enough to be sexy which she wore with a short black skirt and black strappy shoes. Finally she got impatient  
  
"Are you going to stand all day or get inside Shane?" she snapped  
  
Shane made an elaborate gesture with his hands, briefcase and all  
  
"After you dear sister"  
  
With a withering glare, Stephanie walked inside flanked by Test and Christian. Shane followed with Lance beside him and Taker bringing up the rear.  
  
"Who'd you kill to dye the shirt anyway?" Shane quipped as they reached the office unscathed  
  
"Shut up"  
  
"Touché" Shane replied with a small grin, watching as Taker shut and locked the door behind him.  
  
Stephanie sat down behind the desk and spun around in the chair so she was facing the corkboard fastened to the wall. She focused her attention on the list of their superstars and narrowed her eyes. "Shane, I don't think I'm satisfied with our roster yet."  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously, sprawling out on the chaise lounge underneath the window. "Our roster kicks ass."  
  
Taker watched silently from his place leaning against the door and the Un- Americans looked curiously at each other while smartly choosing to remain quiet.  
  
Stephanie shook her head and pointed to the paper. "No, look at this. We only have eleven people—how the hell is that supposed to impress anybody. You know who I want?" She asked, spinning back around so she was facing her brother, who looked back at her cluelessly. "Who's that new girl around here? The one who keeps terrorizing Stratus?"  
  
"Victoria." Christian piped up. "She just got pulled up from OVW."  
  
"Yeah her." Stephanie replied. "I want her on our team. I want that ingrate Booker T too. We made him who he is and now he's gone all good on us."  
  
Shane shook his head. "Booker isn't going to come over to us. He plays the face part too well; he likes being cheered instead of getting heat."  
  
"I don't care." Stephanie answered dismissively.  
  
"He won't come over." Taker spoke up, reinforcing Shane's position. "He's too caught up in himself now, he won't care."  
  
"Fine. Whatever. Shane, if you don't think it's a good idea then we won't." Taker opened his mouth to say something but Shane shot him a look advising him against it. "I want Kurt's two clones too. Haas and Benjamin I think it is." She continued. "They've been impressing me lately."  
  
"Anybody else?" Shane asked as he scribbled her list of demands on a piece of notebook paper quickly.  
  
She shrugged and looked down at her lap-top, pulling up the official WWE homepage. "I want them too!" She announced, pointing her finger to the screen at the tag-team.  
  
Shane came over and stood over her shoulder, curious to see who her last choice was. "Bubba and D-von?" He asked skeptically.  
  
"Good choice." Taker commented and Stephanie beamed.  
  
"Thank you. We need a really strong tag-team." She explained, and then turned towards the Un-Americans. "Do you guys think you could go and find those five people and tell them we'd like a word with them?"  
  
"Not a problem." Test answered as the three got up and left the room.  
  
"You really think this is a good idea?" Stephanie asked her brother. She looked up at Taker who was still standing there. "Don't you have a match to get ready for?" She asked him.  
  
His face hardened and stepped out of the room, slamming the door behind him hard.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Shane exploded.  
  
Stephanie looked up at him, absent-mindedly filing her nails. "We need time to plan. Shane, it's not like he has a say in what we do. He works for us. This is not a partnership no matter what you or he thinks."  
  
Shane opened his mouth but said nothing for a few moments. "You really want to know why our invasion didn't work the first time?" He asked. She began to respond but he cut her off. "Can you please just shut up and not talk for like five minutes."  
  
"You have no right to talk to me—"  
  
"I'm your brother, of course I do." He interrupted her.  
  
Stephanie pushed her chair back and stood up, placing both hands firmly on the desk. "No. You don't." She replied vehemently. "Now you listen to me. I did not have to ask you to help me with this. I could've done this blindfolded with both hands behind my back. I thought you would be interested in helping me out here, but obviously I was wrong."  
  
"It failed last time because you couldn't stop being such a bitch." Shane continued as if he didn't even hear her. "You were always intimidating and unapproachable and you were not a person our workers could relate too. You were too bossy, much like you're being now. You could never accept the idea that you were wrong most of the times and, surprise surprise, you still think the damn world revolves around you."  
  
"You're a very brave man for saying that to me, you realize that don't you"  
  
Shane rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to just yell in frustration. "You will never change." He accused before storming out of the room, almost knocking into Victoria, Haas, and Benjamin who were outside of the door and too afraid to go in. 


End file.
